The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions in consumers’ daily lives. Regulations imposing social distancing, quarantine and full-scale lockdowns have heightened the risks amongst vulnerable consumer groups such as the elderly and socially or financially disadvantaged. However, these restrictions have also caused transitory vulnerability in many people who are not considered vulnerable under normal circumstances. Digital technology has become central to almost every aspect of consumers’ lives in response to restriction measures and in coping with pandemic-induced stress and anxiety. Technology-mediated consumption as a coping strategy amidst a crisis is an under-researched topic within the marketing literature. This paper discusses four paradoxes of technology central to understanding the nexus between technology consumption and consumer vulnerability. We propose a comprehensive research agenda and call for future research that could overcome the limitations of traditional research designs. Our work serves as a springboard for future scholarship and opens doors for other researchers to continue exploring this critical research area.

中文翻译：

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应对危机：技术与消费者脆弱性的悖论

COVID-19 大流行对消费者的日常生活造成了前所未有的破坏。实施社会疏远、隔离和全面封锁的法规增加了弱势消费者群体（如老年人和社会或经济弱势群体）的风险。然而，这些限制也导致了许多在正常情况下不被认为是脆弱的人的短暂脆弱。在应对限制措施以及应对大流行引起的压力和焦虑方面，数字技术已成为消费者生活几乎所有方面的核心。以技术为媒介的消费作为危机中的应对策略是营销文献中研究不足的主题。本文讨论了对理解技术消费和消费者脆弱性之间的关系至关重要的四个技术悖论。我们提出了一个全面的研究议程，并呼吁未来的研究可以克服传统研究设计的局限性。我们的工作是未来奖学金的跳板，并为其他研究人员继续探索这一关键研究领域打开了大门。