‘It’s So Hard to Control It’: Navigating Responsible Digital Consumption in an Age of Individualisation

Abstract

This article advances sociological debates on individualisation and consumer responsibilisation by critically examining the case of digital overuse. Departing from previous sociological literature that highlights how different individuals and groups can engage with moderate, disciplined and ‘responsible’ consumption, we reveal the case of digital consumers who often fall into excessive consumption patterns. Based on 32 qualitative in-depth interviews, we explore how our informants’ aspirations for consuming responsibly are paradoxically undermined by other competing social demands within an individualised, digitally mediated environment. These include: (1) conforming to pressures of maintaining digitally mediated social bonds; (2) instrumentalising sociotechnical resources and embracing life projectisation ethos; and (3) re-embedding oneself into the sociotechnical sphere. We argue that the normative framework of consumer responsibilisation is underpinned by a persistent tension and struggle, as the very forces that impel individuals to make responsible life choices increasingly impair their capacity to moderate their digital usage and exercise agency over their consumption decisions.