Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part F (2025)

This paper examines how social media use (focusing on YouTube and Facebook) influences marketing engagement and consumer behavior among Millennials and Gen Z in Lakshadweep. A cross-sectional survey (N = 405) measured social media usage, marketing engagements, platform usage (YouTube, Facebook) and purchase behavior. Descriptive statistics show that Gen Z reports higher engagement across most indicators. Correlation analysis finds strong, positive associations among social media usage, marketing engagements and purchase behavior (all p<.001). Regression indicates social media usage significantly predicts consumer behavior (B = 0.822, β = 0.785, t = 25.47, p<.001; R = .785, R² = .616). CFA/SEM show good measurement properties and an excellent model fit (CMIN/df = 1.062; GFI = .954; CFI = .975; RMSEA = .042). SEM path estimates indicate social media usage strongly predicts YouTube (β = 0.699) and Facebook use (β = 0.719); platform use and direct social media usage predict marketing engagement, which in turn strongly predicts purchase behavior (β = 0.753). Practical implications for marketers and platform strategists are discussed.