Digitalizing consumer society: equipment and devices of digital consumption

Abstract

This special issue of the Journal of Cultural Economy focuses on the digitalization of consumption and its social, cultural, ethical, political, and gendered implications. It thus answers the call for more research on how digital devices spread from the purely personal domain to multiple sociocultural domains. Through their use, new cultural practices have emerged between consumers and these devices, and devices and markets, that lead to change, in terms of consumer demand, consumption norms, and issues of ethics, culture, and power. Closely examining the role that devices play in consumption behavior enables us to address the supposed manipulative power of hi-tech companies, infrastructures, and systems at the global level, and the view ordinary market actors hold of digital appliances as empowering tools at the local level. The papers in this volume bridge 'actor network theory' and 'consumer culture theory' from the perspective of market 'agencements.' Ruckenstein-Granroth and Beauvisage-Mellet, and Arriagada-Concha focus on the device-mediated relationship between large digital market infrastructures and consumer behavior; Petersson McIntyre and Licoppe unveil the societal and cultural underpinnings of digitalized markets. Last but not least, Sörum and Soujtis address the political dimensions and implications of our new digital consumer equipment and society.

Digitalization processes vs. traditional ones: ethical and environmental aspects

“…The use of such data creates certain ethical problems because, on the one hand, the information is publicly available and, on the other hand, its rights belong to a certain person or group of persons. Current legislation does not cover all aspects regarding the use of social media data, so there is a need to create awareness about the ethical issues that exist (Cochoy et al 2020). Digitalization can lead to changes in traditional structures of thinking and understanding.…”

“…Economic development facilitates the digitalization of regional economies, social systems, and even individual companies. Many sociologists argue that the digital transformation of a traditional society provides it with a competitive advantage (Dias & Vieira 2013, Cochoy et al 2020, Bonnaud 2021. By the end of the 20 th century, the expansion of the information space in different countries had contributed to the creation of digital networks for customer interaction and information preservation (Mondejar et al 2021, Ciriza-Mendívil et al 2022.…”

The digitalisation of consumption and its geographies

“…The digitalisation of consumption enables the reproduction of spaces at various geographical scales (Cochoy et al, 2017(Cochoy et al, , 2020: large hi-tech companies, infrastructures and systems can exert manipulative power at the global level (for example, e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Taobao make discrimination of users based on opaque algorithms and manipulate users by big data analytics and targeted advertising), making a homogenous digital landscape. The sale, purchase, and use of different digital technologies can bring new cultural practices that lead to changes in consumer demand, consumption norms, and emergent issues of ethics, social relations, cultural politics, and power at the local level (for example, key influencers on social media often associate 'good' food to a healthy and green lifestyle, shaping local consumers' moral and ethical concerns), generating new local consumer cultures.…”

Rede De Delivery De Comida E Seus Atores: Práticas De Consumo E De Mercado

“…Essa evolução digital enquadra um reconhecimento do papel que a materialidade e a tecnologia desempenham nas práticas de consumo e de mercado. Além disso, novos dispositivos de mercado estão relacionados à inovações de mercado, que alteram relações e influenciam de forma direta os atores deste mesmo mercado (COCHOY et al, 2020). O atual processo de digitalização abre margens para novas práticas de consumo e de mercado, sendo que estas últimas são possibilitadas pelas tecnologias dos aplicativos digitais.…”