Digital Fatigue Towards Green Skepticism: A Grounded Theory of Consumer Resistance in Hyperpersonalized Marketing

Abstract

As digital advertising becomes increasingly capable of predicting consumer preferences, many consumers have started to feel exhausted, monitored, and emotionally detached from the marketing messages surrounding them. This condition is especially visible among younger generations whose daily activities are deeply connected to social media platforms and digital marketplaces. Advertisements that repeatedly appear in highly personalized forms often create discomfort rather than engagement, giving consumers the impression that their online behavior is constantly being watched and interpreted by algorithms. At the same time, brands have intensified the use of environmental narratives and moral values within their marketing strategies. For many consumers, however, these campaigns no longer feel authentic. Instead, they are increasingly perceived as performative, excessive, and commercially driven. This study explores how such digital experiences gradually shape consumer resistance toward contemporary marketing communication. The research focuses on Gen Z and young millennials in Indonesia who actively use TikTok, Instagram, and online marketplaces. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with twelve purposively selected informants. The analysis was conducted through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding to develop a conceptual model explaining the relationship between digital fatigue, green skepticism, and consumer resistance. The findings reveal the emergence of a condition described as Hyperpersonalization Distrust Syndrome, a state in which consumers begin to lose trust in brands due to excessive personalized advertising and moral campaigns perceived as inauthentic. The study also highlights the need for more transparent, ethically balanced, and less intrusive digital marketing practices, particularly in relation to algorithmic personalization and sustainability communication policies aimed at protecting consumer trust and psychological well-being.