ETHICAL DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT AND RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AMONG GEN Z: THE ROLE OF SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION, BRAND AUTHENTICITY, AND CANCEL CULTURE

Social media has emerged as a critical space for sustainability communication, brand consumer interaction, and ethical discourse. Generation Z, as the most digitally immersed consumer cohort, plays an increasingly influential role in evaluating corporate responsibility and shaping consumption practices. This study examines the effects of sustainability communication, brand authenticity, and cancel culture sensitivity on ethical digital engagement among Gen Z,and investigates how such engagement influences responsible consumption behavior aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 12.Adopting a quantitative research design, data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 250 Gen Z social media users in India. The study employed regression and mediation analysis to test the proposed relationships. The findings indicate that sustainability communication, brand authenticity, and cancel culture sensitivity each exert a significant positive influence on ethical digital engagement. Ethical digital engagement, in turn, demonstrates a strong positive effect on responsible consumption behavior. Mediation results further reveal that ethical digital engagement partially mediates the relationships between the three antecedent variables and responsible consumption behavior.The study contributes to the literature on digital marketing and ethical consumption by empirically integrating sustainability communication, authenticity, and cancel culture within a unified framework.