Digital Consumer Culture and Symbolic Consumption: An Integrative Conceptual Framework
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66203/Keywords:
symbolic consumption, digital consumer culture, consumer identity theory, digital visibility, social recognition, consumption intentionAbstract
Contemporary digital society has fundamentally transformed symbolic consumption by shifting consumer interactions from possession-centered practices toward highly visible, platform-mediated identity performances. While symbolic consumption theory has long explained how consumers utilize marketplace meanings to construct and communicate identities, existing frameworks provide limited understanding of how symbolic meanings are translated into behavioral outcomes within digital environments characterized by persistent visibility, algorithmic mediation, and networked social evaluation. Addressing this theoretical gap, this paper develops the Digital Symbolic Consumption Model (DSCM), an integrative conceptual framework that synthesizes Symbolic Consumption Theory, Consumer Identity Theory, Consumer Culture Theory, and Digital Consumer Culture literature. Through a systematic conceptual integration of these theoretical streams, the study reconceptualizes symbolic consumption as a sequential process linking Symbolic Meaning, Identity Projection, Digital Visibility, Social Recognition, Lifestyle Alignment, and Consumption Intention. The proposed framework advances existing scholarship by positioning visibility and recognition as critical intermediary mechanisms through which symbolic meanings acquire behavioral relevance in digital contexts. The DSCM contributes a contemporary theoretical lens for understanding consumption within platform societies and provides a foundation for future empirical research examining identity performance, symbolic value creation, and consumer behavior across emerging digital ecosystems.
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