Table Of Content“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, practi-
tioners, 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 con-
sumer 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 dig-
ital 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 rev-
olution 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
