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“Llamas and Belk have brought together an assemblage of cutting-edge academic essays that examine virtually every aspect of the modern digital consumer. Much has changed in the past few years and it’s all here. The volume is a wide-ranging conceptual and topical feast of how the latest advances and future developments in the digital world impact today’s consumer. The menu includes AI-robot-consumer interactions, Tinder, digital fandom, non-human influencers, digital spirituality, the technoculture of Zoom and anti-vaxxers, and so much more. Researchers, teachers, and practitioners alike will come away updated, challenged, and inspired.” — Tom Novak, George Washington University, USA “Worldwide, the dominance of the digital economy represents the most significant paradigm shift of the 21st century. This book provides the vital knowledge to help academics, practitioners, pundits, and the public grasp the core concepts, contradictions, and contributions of this commercial sphere. Containing scholarly riches produced by over 60 authors, it traverses the gamut of digital consumption topics – exploring how bits, bytes, and bots shape consumer behavior and consumer culture in the digital arena.” — Cele Otnes, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, USA “We are all living in a digital world, but how does that change the people living in it? The Routledge Handbook of Digital Consumption takes an intellectually critical look into the digital world. With an emphasis on qualitative approaches, this volume contains thoughtful chapters from deep digital thinkers. Taken as a whole, the book ‘steps back’ to view the digital domain in a broad, multidisciplinary way, taking into account the philosophical, sociological, and psychological impact of the digital environment, and considering the broad, societal implications as well. Truly understanding the digital world demands an eclectic viewpoint, and this volume provides a wide-ranging view of the digital forces that are changing our lives.” — Roland T. Rust, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, USA “Such is the transformative power of the digital revolution on both consumer behaviour and more broadly consumer culture that hot on the heels of the first edition comes this second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Digital Consumption. The editors have again assembled a super collection of essays from leading academics in their fields, arranged into seven broad themes, from how to research digital consumers, through to more critical perspectives on how digitalization is transforming consumer practices, societies, and cultures. For students and their teachers who are trying to keep pace with the profound changes of the digital revolution on consumer behaviour this is a very timely and welcome additional resource. Ask your library to stock this book now!” — Avi Shankar, University of Bath, UK “Thought provoking, cutting edge, and comprehensive coverage by global experts! A must read for anyone interested in digital consumption!” — Jochen Wirtz, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore “Llamas and Belk, acknowledged experts on the digital transformation, have assembled an extraordinary group of scholars. There simply is no other handbook that portrays our digital world in such detail. In my view, a must read for any researcher in the social sciences and any business practitioner looking for consumer insight to drive business growth.” — Bernd Schmitt, Columbia Business School, USA “As companies from Facebook to Microsoft rebrand and reconstitute to align with the ‘metaverse’, a fulsome foundation in the consumer behaviors constituting not just a life engaged online, but a digital life lived entirely within a digital world, becomes paramount. Enter this handbook and its expert guide to the complexities and conundrums of digital consumption 3.0.” — Susan Fournier, Boston University, USA THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF DIGITAL CONSUMPTION Since the publication of the ground-breaking first edition, there has been an exponential growth in research and literature about the digital world and its enormous potential benefits and threats. Fully revised and updated, this new edition brings together an expertly curated and authoritative overview of the impact and emerging horizons of digital consumption. Divided into sections, it addresses key topics including digital entertainment, self- representation, communication, Big Data, digital spirituality, online surveillance, and algo- rithmic advertising. It explores developments such as consumer data collection techniques, peer-to-peer payment systems, augmented reality, and AI-enhanced consumer well-being, as well as digital transgression, secrecy, crypto-currencies, NFTs, and cultural concerns such as the spread of conspiracy theories and fake news. From digital influencers, digital nomads, and digital neo-tribalism to robots and cyborgs, it explores existences that blur boundaries between humans and machines, reality and the metaverse, and the emerging “technoculture” – a state of all-encompassing digital being. This unique volume is an essential resource for scholars, practitioners, and policy makers, and will continue to provide a new generation of readers with a deep understanding of the universe of digital consumption. Rosa Llamas is a lecturer in marketing at several business schools across Europe. She is also a mentor and consultant. Her work is based on qualitative methods, has a global approach, and aims at igniting individual and societal transformations. Russell Belk is York University Distinguished Research Professor, Royal Society of C anada Fellow, and Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at the Schulich School of Business in York University, Canada. THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF DIGITAL CONSUMPTION Second Edition Edited by Rosa Llamas and Russell Belk Cover image: Jorm Sangsorn Second edition published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Rosa Llamas and Russell Belk; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Rosa Llamas and Russell Belk to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Routledge 2012 (as The Routledge Companion to Digital Consumption) British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Llamas, Rosa, editor. | Belk, Russell W., editor. Title: The Routledge handbook of digital consumption / edited by Rosa Llamas and Russell Belk. Other titles: Routledge companion to digital consumption. Description: 2nd edition. | Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2023. | Series: Routledge international handbooks | Earlier edition published in 20212 as: The Routledge companion to digital consumption. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022011352 (print) | LCCN 2022011353 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032329598 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032329604 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003317524 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Information technology—Social aspects. | Consumer behavior. | Consumers—Research. Classification: LCC HM851.R6793 2023 (print) | LCC HM851 (ebook) | DDC 303.48/33—dc23/eng/20220311 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022011352 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022011353 ISBN: 978-1-032-32959-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-32960-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-31752-4 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003317524 Typeset in Bembo by codeMantra CONTENTS List of Figures xii List of Tables xiii About the Contributors xiv PART I What’s Digital? 1 1 Living in a Digital Society 3 Rosa Llamas and Russell Belk 2 Digital Nomadism as Temporal Privilege 22 Aleksandrina Atanasova, Fleura Bardhi, Giana M. Eckhardt, and Laetitia Mimoun 3 How Digitalization Blurs Boundaries, Makes Things Ungraspable, and Affects Psychological Appropriation 35 Bernadette Kamleitner and Michail D. Kokkoris 4 Transhumanism and the Phenomenology of Cyborg Senses 47 Vitor M. Lima 5 Researching the Black Box: A Call for Methodological Diversity, Transdisciplinarity, and Creativity in Research on Smart Digital Consumption 60 Jonas Foehr and Claas Christian Germelmann vii Contents PART II Representing the Self and Others 73 6 The Evolution of Online Self-Presentation: From Programmable Freeform Websites to Algorithmized Templates that Encourage Commercially Exploitable Content 75 Ashok Kumar Kaliyamurthy, Hope Jensen Schau, and Mary C. Gilly 7 Digital Identity: The Postmodern Consumer Chameleon 86 Michael R. Solomon 8 Digital Payment, “Venmo Me” Culture, and Sociality 98 Jenna Drenten 9 From Blogs to Platforms: Content Landscape and Affordances 111 Ghalia Shamayleh and Zeynep Arsel 10 Chatbots: From Eliza and Alexa to Therapy-Bots, and Sexbots 124 Russell Belk PART III Researching the Digital Consumer 137 11 Robots: Friend or Foe, Master or Servant? 139 Marat Bakpayev 12 Understanding Technoculture 152 Robert V. Kozinets 13 Critical Issues in Artificial Intelligence Algorithms and Their Implications for Digital Marketing 166 Elanor Colleoni and Daniela Corsaro 14 Utilizing Digital Reality in Intergenerational Research 178 Pragea G. Putra, Karen V. Fernandez, and Michael S.W. Lee 15 The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Capturing Livestreamed Performances 190 Toni Eagar, Natalie A. Mitchell, Kevin D. Thomas, and Yingnan Shi PART IV Communicating, Interacting, and Socializing 203 16 Considering the Impacts of Transgressive Behaviors among Interactive Online Audiences 205 Alex Baudet, Marie-Agnès Parmentier, and Eileen Fischer viii Contents 17 You’ll Never Walk Alone: Socializing and Finding Your Tribe in a Digital Age 218 Bernard Cova and Laurence Dessart 18 Capitalist Subjectivity, Tinder, and the Emotionalization of the Web 229 Eva Illouz and Dan M. Kotliar 19 They Aren’t Secret, They Aren’t Hiding, and Some Online Communities Are More Dangerous Than Ever 241 Ekant Veer 20 A ‘Thumbs Up’ and ‘Thumbs Down’ for Thumb Culture: The Paradoxical Nature of Smartphones 255 Katie Thompson and Anthony Patterson PART V Using Digital 267 21 From Techno-Utopianism to Personal Panopticon and Beyond: A Call for a Revised Self-Tracking Research Agenda 269 Matthias Bode and Dorthe Brogård Kristensen 22 Transformations in Digital Virtual Consumption 284 Janice Denegri-Knott, Rebecca Jenkins, and Mike Molesworth 23 Consumer Decision Making in Omnichannel Environments 297 Elfriede Penz and Margaret K. Hogg 24 Patient Experience Assemblages on Digital Health Platforms 309 Handan Vicdan and Nikhilesh Dholakia 25 Stock Investing in the Digital Age 322 Jonathan Schroeder and Detlev Zwick 26 How Do Consumers (Re-)organize Their Lives Through Digital Decluttering? 335 Johanna F. Gollnhofer and Birte Karoline Manke PART VI Playing, Praying, Educating, and Entertaining 349 27 The Perpetual Traveler – Hypermobility in a Connected World 351 Ulrike Gretzel ix