‘Noise about nothingness', turning off eMarketing: The disconnected consumer, identity and behavior

Abstract

This presentation is based on a working paper that seeks to identify and describe the three of forms of consumer disconnection from social media.  In particular, younger consumers may be regarded as ‘always on' and reachable through mobile and other devices.  This presentation suggests that such sweeping assumptions fail to capture the diversity of consumer responses to social media.  The research reported here is based on a qualitative study of sixty consumers from different countries that identify themselves as choosing to disconnect from social media.  It is argued that an understanding of the motivations of these consumers offers insights into a group who may be otherwise marginalised from social media marketing strategies.  It is concluded that marketing information shared through social media and across social networks may be seen as an intrusion into a private social space. Thus, disconnection may be seen as a way to craft or tailor social media to the requirements of an individual consumer and as a defence against the flow interactive information.

Key words:

information, consumer, social media, Web 2.0, marketing strategy, social space, disconnect, identity, response, buzz,