Navigating digital interaction and privacy: A comparative analysis of social media engagement among consumers in Thailand and the UK

Consumers engage in social media activities, such as liking, commenting, sharing, and creating content, often revealing their identities, even if it is as an online persona. The rise of social commerce allows users to purchase brands directly through social media, but it also raises concerns around privacy and trust. Brands can personalise messages to drive engagement, yet data monetisation has created tensions among technology, privacy, consumers, regulators, and firms. This paper explores the links between United Kingdom (UK) and Thailand (Thai) consumers’ social media activities, their privacy concerns, and perceptions of brand intrusiveness in relation to purchase intentions via social commerce. Results indicate limited differences in engagement levels between Thai and UK consumers, with active participation reducing feelings of intrusiveness and privacy concerns. However, some differences exist among those users who do have privacy concerns affecting their purchase intention, an interesting finding given that regulations surrounding online privacy are emerging at varying rates globally.