Becoming “Smart”: Youth, Smartphones, and Consumer Culture in Urban Bangladesh

In technologically advancing Bangladesh, smartphones are central to progress yet are fostering a new consumer culture among youth. This qualitative study investigates how smartphone consumption cultivates a consumption-centred lifestyle and reinforces class and identity-based inequalities. It further explores how these devices generate new norms concerning relationships, pleasure, and self-perception. Data were collected via ethnographic interviews, focus group discussions, case studies, and observation with 45 students across three universities. Findings reveal that purchases are driven more by brand value and social acceptance than technical utility. Influenced by capitalist structures, youth frame consumption as a pathway to pleasure, identity, and social belonging, a process that perpetuates social inequality. A palpable social pressure to participate in this consumerism was evident. Ultimately, smartphone usage has become a cultural determinant of "being smart," a perception shaped by society, family, media, and corporate interests. The study concludes that this dynamic exacerbates class division. These findings aim to equip educators, development organizations, and policymakers to address these inequalities and guide a more critical, beneficial engagement with technology.