From hedonism to frugality: consumption desires in different age groups across 20 years

Abstract

This article examines different kinds of consumption desires of Finnish consumers by asking how they would change their consumption habits if they had more money at their disposal. As previous research on consumption desires has been mainly based on the essence of desires and the cycle of fulfilling hedonistic desires and creating new ones, this study analyses the desires in the context of the ages of both consumers and consumer society. The focus was differences in consumption desires between age groups and changes across 20 years. The data were derived from three repeated surveys collected in 1999, 2009 and 2019 in Finland (N = 5,459), which were analysed with principal-axis factor analysis and ANCOVA. The factor analysis extracted three types of consumption desires: hedonistic, charitable-cultural and materialistic. Saving-oriented desires were analysed as a single item. Hedonistic consumption desires were the most typical for the youngest age group (18–25), and materialistic desires were the highest for young adults aged 26–35 across all three years of measurement. Older people had the most charitably and culturally oriented desires in 1999, but older age groups’ orientation to saving and charitable giving and culture decreased across 20 years. Hedonistic consumption desires generally decreased over 20 years, particularly in young age groups. Conversely, young people’s desire to save increased significantly, whereas the oldest age groups saved less. The research shows that both changes in consumer values and economic circumstances are manifested in people’s consumption desires.

School and family environments promote adolescents' financial confidence: Indirect paths to financial literacy skills in Finnish PISA 2018

“…As shown in our study, financial education at school increases students' confidence in using financial services; in particular, confidence in using digital financial services increases financial literacy performance. This is important because financial literacy is known to benefit individuals and households, as individuals can make better and more informed decisions (Silinskas, Ranta, et al, 2021; Wilska et al, 2023); moreover, policymakers increasingly perceive the development of financial skills among young people as essential (Moreno‐Herrero et al, 2018). Interestingly, as our results show, financial education is more accessible to students in higher grades than those in lower grades.…”

“…However, because they have limited experiences and abilities to make correct financial decisions (Arellano et al, 2014), it is imperative that young people are educated and have access to financial information as early as secondary school. In this way, adolescents will be able to learn how to make informed decisions and protect themselves against possible current and future financial risks (Silinskas, Ranta, et al, 2021; Wilska et al, 2023).…”

On subjective well‐being and excess strategy to cope with financial‐scarcity problem

“…Research shows that young people's desire to save is more intense than older people (e.g., Wilska et al, 2023). Learning how to reduce material desires at a young age is a path to increase savings.…”

“…In other words, younger adults have to save more than older adults to maintain their well‐being over time. Research shows that young people's desire to save is more intense than older people (e.g., Wilska et al, 2023). Learning how to reduce material desires at a young age is a path to increase savings.…”