Empowerment or Manipulation? A Qualitative Study on How Consumers Navigate the Consumption of Period and Fertility Tracking Apps

Abstract

Keywords: Period and Fertility Tracking Apps (PFTAs), Consumer Culture Theory, Feminist
Surveillance, Governmentality, Discourse, Biopower, Foucault, Self-Tracking, Gender,
Manipulation, Empowerment

Thesis Purpose: This research investigates how consumers navigate the consumption of
PFTAs as an empowering and manipulating practice. Consequently, this thesis aims at
contributing to consumer culture research on gender and self-tracking technologies.
Furthermore, this study seeks to advance the emerging academic field of feminist surveillance
studies by elucidating how the underlying gendered surveillance mechanisms of the
consumption of PFTAs form part of governmentality and impact consumers.
Theoretical Perspective: The study is positioned within consumer culture theory and follows
a feminist surveillance agenda. Through a Foucauldian perspective including the notions of
governmentality, discourse, and biopower, this thesis critically investigates consumers’
experiences with and perceptions of the consumption of PFTAs and the underlying
governmental mechanisms.

Methodology: This thesis leans towards a relativist ontology and a feminist, social
constructivist epistemology. An abductive qualitative research approach was applied. To
address the research question, 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with
European PFTA consumers that were selected through purposive sampling. To analyze the
empirical data, a thematic analysis was performed.

Findings: The consumption of PFTAs relies on governmental mechanisms such as
surveillance, discourses, and biopedagogy. While this warrants app providers with the power
to manipulate consumers, users navigate the consumption of PFTAs as an empowering rather
than manipulating practice. This study critically investigated this tension between
empowerment and manipulation and found that on an individual level, consumers feel
empowered through the consumption of PFTAs as these apps increase users’ self-knowledge,
self-surveillance, and self-determination. Paradoxically, these feelings of empowerment are
fabricated by governmental mechanisms at play. Due to these mechanisms, PFTAs have the
power to manipulate consumer behavior. In line with the Foucauldian notion of
governmentality, consumers are rather unaware of these processes and perceive PFTA
consumption as a source of agency. This consequently allows PFTAs to manipulate consumers
by making them discipline their consumption behavior, sexual activity, and data disclosure. To
understand how consumers facilitate these governmental mechanisms five navigation
strategies of consumers were identified: ignorance, desensitization, obligation, trust, and
surrender.

Practical Implications: Consumers should reflect on how the consumption of PFTAs may
impact them beyond the obvious. PFTA providers including developers and marketers need to
be aware of the power they have over consumers and must not exploit this power position.
Policymakers need to improve institutional biopedagogical mechanisms to educate consumers
and protect consumers’ privacy and agency through secure data regulations related to PFTAs.

• author: Wamser, Katja and Kopp, Paula
• supervisor: Hossain Shahriar
• organization: Department of Business Administration
• course: BUSN39 20231
• year: 2023
• type: H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
• subject: Business and Economics
• language: English
• id: 9129745
• date added to LUP: 2023-06-29 09:34:17
• date last changed: 2023-06-29 09:34:17