The Relationship between Materialism and Conspicuous Consumption: A Study on University Students

Abstract

Purpose - The aim of this study was to determine the socio-economic and demographic factors affecting the materialistic tendency and conspicuous consumption of university students, to investigate the relationship between the participants' materialistic tendency and conspicuous consumption, and to investigate the effect of conspicuous consumption and materialistic tendency on the general life satisfaction of young people. Design/methodology/approach - The data of the study were collected from 303 university students living in Ankara using Snowball Sampling Method with online survey technique. Mann Whitney U Test was used to compare continuous variables between two independent groups and Kruskal Wallis H Test was used to compare continuous variables between two or more independent groups. The relationship between continuous variables was analyzed by Spearman Correlation Analysis, and the effect of independent variables on dependent variables was evaluated by Simple/Multiple Linear Regression Analysis. Results - Significant differences were observed in students' materialistic tendencies according to gender, age and father's education level. The study concluded that as materialistic tendency increases, conspicuous consumption tendency increases but life satisfaction decreases. Discussion - The recent shift in the meaning of consumption has made it a purpose rather than a means to fulfill needs. Consumers, especially those with materialistic tendencies, put material possessions at the center of their lives. Increasing materialism triggers the desire for conspicuous consumption. It is known that individuals with low materialistic tendencies have higher personal welfare. Therefore, it is of great importance to organize programs supported by the state, universities and non-governmental organizations to remove materialistic values from being the main purpose of life, especially for young people, to increase life satisfaction through self-realization in areas other than consumption and material ownership, and to raise awareness on this issue.