Digital Fatigue in Marketing Exposure: When Too Much Content Reduces Engagement and Brand Attachment

Abstract

The rapid growth of digital marketing and algorithm-based personalization has substantially increased the intensity of marketing content that consumers receive across social media, e-commerce, and email channels. While this development allows companies to reach consumers more efficiently, excessive exposure can trigger digital fatigue, a state of mental and emotional exhaustion caused by an overload of digital information. This phenomenon becomes increasingly relevant in the omnichannel era, when consumers are exposed to marketing messages simultaneously through multiple digital platforms. This study aims to analyze the effect of digital content exposure intensity on digital fatigue, as well as its impact on consumer engagement and brand attachment, and to examine the mediating role of digital fatigue in these relationships. This study employed a quantitative approach using an explanatory research method. Data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed via Google Forms to active users of social media and digital platforms in Indonesia, with a purposive sample of 403 respondents aged 17 years and above. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS software. The results show that digital content exposure intensity has a positive effect on digital fatigue, and that digital fatigue negatively affects both consumer engagement and brand attachment. In addition, digital fatigue is proven to mediate the relationship between exposure intensity and consumer behavioral responses. These findings suggest that companies need to manage the frequency and intensity of digital marketing more carefully in order to preserve consumer comfort, sustain engagement, and maintain long-term emotional relationships with consumers.