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Welfare beyond consumption
(2020)
In developed regions worldwide, so-called anti-consumers are increasingly resisting high-level consumption lifestyles or shifting to alternative forms of consumption. A general reduction in consumption levels is considered necessary to attain global sustainability goals. However, knowledge regarding the factors driving people to deliberately consume less and how anti-consumption affects individuals' well-being is limited. Against this background, this study considers the influence of human values and the well-being effects of two types of anti-consumption: voluntary simplicity and collaborative consumption. Based on representative data from the US (N = 1075) and Germany (N = 1070), the findings show that the two anti-consumption types do not reduce the well-being of individuals' but in some cases, even improve it, which suggests that lowering consumption can not only help protect environmental resources but also serve the greater good of society. In particular, this relationship holds among collaborative consumers with a strong need for cognition, i.e., a cognitive thinking style that involves a high level of decision control. According to the study results, opposite value orientations are the drivers of voluntary simplicity and collaborative consumption (i.e., a focus on self-transcendence versus self-enhancement). These findings are comparable in both countries; however, the strength of the effects differs.
Given the rising popularity of social networking sites (SNSs), the influence of these platforms on the subjective well-being (SWB) of their users is an emerging topic in information systems research. Building on the norm of reciprocity and the social functional approach to positive emotions, we posit that targeted reciprocity-evoking forms of SNS activities are best suited to promote users’ positive emotions. The favourable potential of these activities is likely to be particularly pronounced among adolescents who pay special attention to social acceptance, which can be channelled with the help of reciprocal communication. Therefore, we conducted a quantitative 7-day diary study of 162 adolescent Facebook users attending German schools, looking at the impact of their daily SNS activities on their SWB. Based on a linear mixed model analysis, our results confirm a positive link between targeted reciprocity-evoking activities – such as chatting, giving and receiving feedback – and adolescents’ positive emotions. Our findings provide a reassuring perspective on the implications of the sociotechnical design of SNS communication channels. Specifically, by encouraging targeted activities, providers, users, and other stakeholders can ensure the beneficial impact of this technology on users’ SWB.