Technological advances are growing at a dizzying pace as an increasingly digitally savvy consumer becomes accustomed to getting what he wants when, where and how he wants it. Digital media has allowed us to connect with geographically separated people, while developing digital tribes of hyper-individualized products and offerings. Marketers have had to develop ever more sensitive tools to observe and predict consumer behavior, and bring their propositions as close as possible to the exact individual, right at the moment the need arises, and sometimes even moments before. Companies no longer only have to focus on analyzing the role of customers, but also on trying to connect them with their services and products, sometimes without considering the repercussions that this entails. The digitization of the marketplace is allowing us to gain more and more instant gratification experiences, but digital technology is also reducing what is essential to developing long-term customer value: the quality empathetic connection. In fact, multiple studies allude to reduced frustration tolerance, reduced capacity for affection, anxiety problems… effects that are easily related to the increasing use of digital media and devices.

The issues that fall within this thematic line are all those related to: user behaviors, instant gratification, the effects of digital media and devices, the effects of instant gratification, with the effects of the reduction of quality empathic connection, repercussions on the consumer…