The Automation Impulse Cycle: Mediating Roles of Social Comparison and FOMO in Impulsive Buying Amid AI-Driven Leisure and Purpose Deficit

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is projected to automate up to 40% of global occupations by 2026, creating a growing segment of the population experiencing automation-induced purpose deficit and identity challenges, often referred to in futurist discourse as the “useless class.” This study investigates how social commerce platforms leverage neuromarketing cues to exploit psychological vulnerabilities such as upward social comparison and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), driving impulsive buying as a compensatory mechanism. Employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) on mixed primary survey data (N=1,200) and secondary neuro-economic datasets, the research tests the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. Results indicate strong mediating effects of FOMO (β = 0.82, p < .001) and social comparison on impulsive buying behavior, with automation displacement moderating susceptibility (2.4x higher in high-impact regions). Findings frame impulsive consumption not as individual weakness but as a neurobiological response to algorithmic manipulation of social pain and dopamine pathways. Ethical and regulatory recommendations are proposed to safeguard cognitive sovereignty.