Reinterpreting Baudrillard's consumer society in the digital age: a study of international students' electronic consumer culture in China

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how Baudrillard's four dimensions, object dominance, abundance/accumulation, the myth of happiness and the myth of poverty, translate to platformed consumer contexts, and to develop testable measures capturing their digital manifestations. Design/methodology/approach Twelve constructs were specified to operationalize digital symbolism, personalization, decision fatigue, digital inequality and hyperreality in identity formation. Data were collected via a structured online survey (n = 200) of international students from Türkiye, Iran and Pakistan studying in Shanghai. Items used five-point Likert scales; content validity was established through expert review and pretesting. Dimensionality and validity were assessed using exploratory factor analysis (oblimin) and confirmatory factor analysis, followed by structural equation modeling linking latent constructs to a Transformation of Consumer Culture Index (TCCI). Findings Three higher-order dimensions emerged, Psychological and Social Influences (PSI), Technological Engagement and Behavior (TEB) and Decision-Making, Access, and Control (DMAC), that jointly explain meaningful variance in digital consumer experience. Results indicate that signs and visibility, rather than utility or device use alone, are strongly associated with cultural transformation, with platform-specific mechanisms (algorithmic visibility, personalization and quantified affect) playing central roles. Practical implications Implications include platform governance that addresses algorithmic visibility and overchoice, and digital-literacy initiatives focused on metric awareness and personalization effects to support consumer well-being. Originality/value It provides a portable measurement grammar that renders Baudrillard's abstract categories empirically testable in platformed environments, advancing theory by specifying how symbolic visibility and quantified affect structure contemporary consumer culture.