Notes

Virtual Displays of Self

Every year Oxford Dictionaries selects a “Word of the Year” that is “judged to reflect the ethos, mood or preoccupations of that particular year and have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance” (oxforddictionaries.com) In 2013, the word was “selfie”. The rise of selfies can be traced back to early social media sites like MySpace and Flickr. Now, even a mascot like Mr. Clean takes selfies (complete with duck lips!) Technology helps amplify the selfie-taking capabilities of consumers with dual front camera phones, selfie sticks, and even drone cameras.

The modern love of selfies has been criticized for narcissism, self-obsession, self-promotion, and even real danger: more people die from taking selfies than from shark attacks. A Pizza Hut ad hit all of these negative views with its light-hearted parody about “The Dangers of Selfie Sticks” (available on YouTube). But others see selfies in their relation to artistic self-expression (Kozinets et al., 2017). Indeed, painters such as Durer, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, and many others were all involved in the creation of self-portraits that are admired years and centuries later by generations of art-lovers. Through those “old-school selfies,” painters revealed their professional selves, experimented with aspired identities, or inserted themselves into different stories or environments. The more positive view positions selfies as a noble act of the search for identity.

Consumers do not always want to use their real photos. Toronto-based technology company Bitstrips developed Bitmoji, a program that allows users to create their digital identity through personalized cartoon avatars that can then be shared with others for visual communication, story-telling, and expressing moods, emotions, and actions. Users say that inserting Bitmoji faces into text allows them to be less serious and to find the right tone for communication (Dave, 2017). In 2016 Snapchat acquired Bitmoji for more than 64 million USD; integrated its 2D and 3D virtual-reality versions; and developed Friendmoji, which allows two avatars to be combined into a single image. It became so popular that Friendmoji is now used in more than half of all Bitmojis exchanged in users’ texts (Dave 2017). In 2018, Bitmoji expanded the number of features available to people to compose consumer digital extensions of themselves (such as selection of skin tones and variety of hairstyles) that make it possible to create more than a septillion combinations, which is 10 to the 24th power (Constine, 2018), so that everyone on the planet can have a unique and recognizable avatar. Bitmoji is now among the most-downloaded apps around the world and users love the possibility of constant editing: some people are suspected to spend more time dressing up their digital selves than their real world selves. (Dave 2107).

Source: Consumer Behaviour, Canadian Edition, Szmigin, Piacentini, Levit, Oxford University Press, 2019.



Answer the following questions based on the Virtual Self case: 25 marks

(5 questions x 5 marks each = 25 marks total for the case).

Question 76 (5 points)
What products or experiences do you most often see in selfies posted online? How can consumers obsessions with selfies and Bitmojis be used by marketers?

Question 77 (5 points)
Do you regard selfies as a positive or a negative way of self-expression and impression management? Explain with examples.

Question 78 (5 points)
What makes users prefer Bitmoji avatars over real-life profile photos? Do you think the extension of Bitmoji avatar options is a smart move?

Question 79 (5 points)
How can Bitmoji capitalize on what it has learned about the buying behaviours of its users? Explain with examples.



Question 80 (5 points)
Why is it important to understand consumer motivation when thinking about personality and identity when it comes to selfies?