Consumer Culture Theory and the Socio-Cultural Investigation of Technology Consumption

Abstract

Consumer culture theory helps us take note of the cultural forces and dynamics in which technology consumption is entangled. It enables us to articulate the cultural processes (e.g., ideological, mythic, ritualistic) through which cultural meanings become granted to or denied to technological innovations, thus shaping the value of technologies as cultural resources sustaining consumer identities. In its urge to shed light on these aspects, CCT tends to reinforce the gaps and asymmetries between the “socio-cultural” and the “techno-material,” leaving plenty of room for further study. The authors outline the strengths and limitations of CCT to offer several tentative suggestions as to how ANT and CCT might draw on each other to enrich the understanding of technology consumption.