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Close Knit: Using Consumption Communities To Overcome Loneliness, Maire O Sullivan, Brendan Richardson
Close Knit: Using Consumption Communities To Overcome Loneliness, Maire O Sullivan, Brendan Richardson
Dept. of Marketing & International Business Publications
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight the role of consumption communities as a self-help support group to ameliorate loneliness. The authors suggest that the self-help element of consumption communities has been overlooked because of a focus on communities pursuing hegemonic masculinity. Instead, the authors focus on a female-led and – dominated consumption community.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal ethnography was undertaken with the aim of understanding consumer behaviour in a “hyper-feminine” environment. Participant observation, depth interviews and netnography were carried out over five years within the Knitting community, focussing on an Irish Stitch ‘n’ Bitch group.
Findings
A dimension of consumption communities …