Voluntary simplicity: a content analysis of consumer comments

Abstract

Purpose The voluntary simplification (VS) movement has stemmed from Western societies and gained momentum in the 1980s, but the trend has failed to become a primary perspective for most consumers. The accompanying concepts of conscious consumption, minimalism and accepting that sometimes “less is more” are still vivid in the digital era. The purpose of this study is to provide a deep and recent understanding of the consumer comments about minimalism in Turkey and examine their associations with the prominent themes in the VS literature. Design/methodology/approach Consumer comments posted on online platforms were analyzed by content analysis and word frequency analysis. Findings Consumer comments were in parallel to the themes in the VS literature and were classified under personal growth, material simplicity, sustainability, proper technology usage and self-sufficiency categories. Personal growth, material simplicity and sustainability were the first three dimensions mentioned. The prominent sub-themes that emerge from data were psychological well-being, inner peace, freedom, meaningful experiences and getting rid of belongings. A word frequency analysis pointed out that “life” and “owning” were the evident words in the personal growth category, “purchasing things” were mostly mentioned in the material simplicity category and “plastic litter” and “excessive consumption” were the prominent concerns in the sustainability category. Originality/value VS required further research in different national contexts. Besides, an analysis of the dimensions of VS was needed. This study contributes by providing recent and rich findings from a developing country, connecting them with the VS themes in the literature and suggesting a conceptual framework enriched by sub-themes that emerged from data.

#SocialMediaWellness: Exploring a research agenda and conceptualization for healthy social media consumption

“…Voluntary simplicity is one motivator that stretches beyond what is worn or present in the home (Wilson & Bellezza, 2022). Internalization and a desire for conscious consumption and inner peace are also present (Tosun & Sezgin, 2021). As seen in this study, consumers are becoming conscious of their social media consumption, rejecting common usage and reliance on social media platforms for social desires.…”

Exploring the role of self-conscious emotions between consumer minimalism and rental behavior

“…Minimalists prefer cautious shopping to endless, obsessive shopping; and limit their consumption to avoid excesses (Woodhead, 2021;Wilson and Bellezza, 2022) while maintaining a healthy balance (Pangarkar et al, 2021;Tosun and Sezgin, 2021). Because they consider shopping habits to be excessive and superfluous (Aydin and Yildirim, 2021), people donate, sell, or swap superfluous, useless, or forgettable items (Sun et al, 2021).…”

Trajectories towards a voluntary simplicity lifestyle and inner growth

“…Voluntary simplicity has likewise been associated with terms such as downshifting (Chhetri et al, 2009; Kennedy et al, 2013), frugality (Bove et al, 2009), minimalism (Kang et al, 2021; Tosun and Sezgin, 2021), and anti-consumption (Cherrier, 2009). Studies on VS have addressed topics such as the core values of VS (Elgin and Mitchell, 1977; Shama and Wisenblit, 1984), VS motivations (Wu, 2013), practices (Huneke, 2005), challenges (Bekin et al, 2005), and VS outcomes, such as consumption (Ballantine and Creery, 2010; Boujbel and d’Astous, 2012; McDonald et al, 2006; Oates et al, 2008; Shaw and Moraes, 2009) and life satisfaction (Boujbel and d’Astous, 2012).…”

“…Instead, the few studies that explore VS suggest that the inner growth dimension of VS is related to psychological wellbeing, such as feeling happy and energetic instead of restlessness and burnout (McGouran and Prothero, 2016; Osikominu and Bocken, 2020; Van Dijk, 2013). However, inner growth may also be related to inner-peace and freedom, in terms of breaking free from the burden of consumption (Tosun and Sezgin, 2021).…”