Gönüllü Sade Yaşam Tarzı ve Gösterişçi Tüketimin Mutluluk Üzerindeki Etkisi

Abstract

Voluntary simplicity is a lifestyle in which individuals consciously prefer to consume less and adopt a simple life. On the other hand, conspicuous consumption refers to the pretentious purchase of luxury and expensive products in order to gain social status or attract attention. In this study, an answer is sought to the question of how lifestyle choices and consumption habits affect the happiness levels of individuals. In this context, the voluntary simple lifestyle and the conspicuous consumption orientation, which express two different approaches that can be effective on happiness, are examined. The basic objective of this research is to investigate the effects of individuals’ voluntary simple lifestyle and conspicuous consumption orientation on their happiness. The ancillary objective of the research is is to designate the differences in the effect of voluntary simple lifestyle and conspicuous consumption orientation on happiness by gender, educational status and age. In line with these objectives, 764 participants were accessed through an online questionnaire by way of using convenience sampling technique. When the basic findings were evaluated, the individuals’ voluntary simple lifestyle averages were found to be at a high level. This was followed by the averages of the happiness variable. The averages of the conspicuous consumption orientation were at the lowest level compared to the other structures. While there were significant differences in individuals’ happiness and voluntary simple lifestyles according to demographic characteristics, no differences were found in conspicuous consumption orientation. Hypothesis test results are demonstrate that voluntary simple lifestyle has a positive and significant effect on happiness. Yet, a significant effect of conspicuous consumption orientation on happiness could not be designated. Moreover, it has been designated that the effect of voluntary simple lifestyle on happiness differentiates based on gender, educational status and age. The effect of conspicuous consumption orientation on happiness differentiates only based on educational status.