Extended Self in a Digital World: Table 1.

Belk, Russell W.

doi:10.1086/671052

Cited by 1,226 publications

(740 citation statements)

References 120 publications

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“…The objects we call our own therefore increasingly exist in digital form (Belk 2013a;Denegri-Knott and Molesworth 2010;Lehdonvirta 2012), yet present significant opportunities for profit for companies. To illustrate, in 2013, the most obvious forms of digital content accounted for 50% of UK music and video revenue, (Mintel 2014a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Having established a context in both market innovation in labour and commodity form, and critiques of production as exploited consumer labour, we offer four contributions. Firstly, we extend the scope of studies on possession in situations of non-ownership and accessbased consumption (Belk 2013a;2013b;Bardhi, Eckhardt & Arnould 2012;Chen 2010) complementing the language of mediation with that of networks. Drawing from Actor-Network Theory (ANT) (Latour 1993; we argue that hosted DCOs can be enacted in multiple networks simultaneously, producing conflicting ontologies whereby DCOs are concurrently enacted as assets by companies, and as possessions by consumers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Possession Work on Hosted Digital Consumption Objects as Consumer Ensnarement

Molesworth¹,

Watkins²,

Denegri‐Knott³

2016

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

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This paper extends prior critical discussions of digital prosumption by demonstrating that prosumer reliant online business models represent new ways to valorise consumer labour through the creation of multiple realities whereby digital consumption objects are simultaneously enacted as assests by companies, and as possessions by consumers. We argue that this ontological multiplicity means that consumers' 'possession work' no longer serves to separate these objects from the market sphere, as in prior work. This produces a new form of consumer lock-in, or actually ensnarement as it is consumers' own efforts to make objects meaningful that keep them in the market, similar to the psychological attachments seen in 'brand love', but also incorporating aspects of proprietary tie-ins, and access-based market systems. We further consider the implications of such a system. For companies we portray such ensnarement as an attractive, emerging mechanism for ongoing valorization of 'free labour'. Yet we also argue that this presents significant consequences for ensnared consumers who may be subject not only to the ongoing financial exploitation of their possession work, but also restrictions on possession. As a broader contribution we highlight how the examination of multiple, potentially conflicting, ontologies in markets may interact and shape one another.2

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possession Work on Hosted Digital Consumption Objects as Consumer Ensnarement

Molesworth¹,

Watkins²,

Denegri‐Knott³

2016

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

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“…In their study, Fong & Mar (2015) confirmed how individuals customized or chose avatars which reflected and represented themselves in some manner, including the very clothes that were chosen. For many users the actual gender chosen creates a connection with that avatar (Belk, 2013). Whilst gender swapping does occur in VWs (Ducheneaut et al, 2009), and it is easy to pass oneself off as the opposite gender, it could be significant as to whether these novice users chose a gender consistent (or not) with their real life gender.…”

Section: Avatars and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meadows (as cited 2008 in Belk, 2013) suggests that if people make an avatar "of the same gender, age, and race, it feels like you on a psycho-physiological level" (p. 481). If the avatar looks similar to our real life selves, it is more likely that we will have some attachment to that avatar.…”

Section: Avatars and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Intrinsic Gender Identity Using Second Life

Mitra¹,

Golz²

2016

JVWR

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Virtual worlds (VWs) provide an environment to understand and explore notions of gender and identity, particularly given the ability for users to experiment with gender in online worlds. Our study analyses gender identity using the virtual space of Second Life (SL) to explore experiences and responses to gender in an avatar. We introduced 46 novice users to the VW of SL in order to see if real life gender influenced their choices of avatar. Participants selected the gender of their original avatar and once they were used to SL, they were then asked to change the gender of that avatar. We used mixed methods of research consisting of paper based questionnaires (n=34) and focus groups (n=46) conducted in SL. Nearly all participants chose an initial avatar that reflected their real-life gender with females (n=22) reporting higher levels of identification with this initial avatar. Females were significantly more concerned with the gender-specific appearance of their initial avatar. On swapping gender, females reported higher levels of discomfort and many changed back before 7 minutes. Males (n=24) did not report significant discomfort with their changed-gender avatar and did not revert back to their original avatar as quickly. Our findings suggest that female participants in this study tended to reinforce gender binaries through such things as clothing, hairstyles and behaviors of their avatars. Male participants were less likely to experience discomfort through changing the gender of their avatar (with the males noting they still perceived an avatar with a female appearance as male).

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“…According to Jyrinki and Leipamaa-Leskinen (2006), this construct include consumers' personal and social aspects, symbolic and functional aspects and control and attachment aspects. Belk (2013) explained that areas of consumption that can be impacted by the concept of extended-self include our possession of pets. Belk (1988) cited the works of Secord (1968) who posited that pet owners develop the attitude "love me, love my dog" when pets are part of the owner's self.…”

Section: Self-extension Constructmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-extension and Purchase Behavior of Dog Related Products and Services: An In-depth Interview among Selected Malaysian Dog Owners

Cheong¹,

Yi²

2014

ASS

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This paper discusses the findings of an explorative study among selected Malaysian dog owners who regard their dogs as extended-self and their purchase behavior of dog related products and services. A qualitative research was conducted to gain some deeper insights on purchase behavior of dog related products and services, an under research area. The study aimed to determine whether these dog owners consider their dogs as an extension of their selves and describe their purchase behavior. In-depth interviews were conducted and four major themes on purchase behavior of dog related products and services emerged, namely loving my pet dog means loving myself, sense of possession, attachment and sacrifice and my pet is like me. The findings show that generally these dog owners consider their dogs as an extension of themselves with some participants demonstrating a stronger self-extension on their pets. Dog owners who view their dogs as their extended self, made purchase decisions as though they were purchasing and consuming these products and services for themselves. This understanding offers practical insight to marketers when marketing dog related products and services.

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Extended Self in a Digital World: Table 1.

Cited by 1,226 publications

References 120 publications

Possession Work on Hosted Digital Consumption Objects as Consumer Ensnarement

Possession Work on Hosted Digital Consumption Objects as Consumer Ensnarement

Exploring Intrinsic Gender Identity Using Second Life

Self-extension and Purchase Behavior of Dog Related Products and Services: An In-depth Interview among Selected Malaysian Dog Owners

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