Has the COVID‐19 pandemic made us more materialistic? The effect of COVID‐19 and lockdown restrictions on the endorsement of materialism

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the factors that typically facilitate the endorsement of materialistic values (e.g., higher media consumption, stress and anxiety, loneliness, death anxiety, and lower moods). In this paper, we examine how contextual changes affecting the antecedents of materialism influence its advocacy with a mixed-method approach. First, a correlational study (Study 1) suggests that increases in media consumption and stress and anxiety during the pandemic predicted current levels of materialism, however, these effects were limited. Second, contrary to our expectations, a longitudinal study (Study 2) shows that people's focus on money decreased during the pandemic. Last, a social media content analysis (Study 3) reveals a downward trend in users' online discourses about consumption-related behaviors, but an upward trend in brands promoting spending as a way to attain wellbeing. The observed effects could fuel deeper societal change in the labor market and in consumer behavior, and have further implications for individual and societal well-being in a post-pandemic world. We recommend future interventions aimed at diminishing materialistic attitudes to examine the effects of decreasing media consumption and to explore how other factors introduced by the pandemic (e.g., a health or well-being focus) might moderate its advocacy.

How Are Material Values and Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle Related to Attitudes and Intentions toward Commercial Sharing during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Evidence from Japan

“…By efficiently utilizing underused social resources, the sharing economy can contribute to sustainability [10][11][12]14]. As the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened social norms in a community [3], the social influence in favor of the sharing economy may encourage participation in CSS. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed: Hypothesis 4 (H4).…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable changes in people's values, lifestyles, and consumption behaviors by restricting social interactions, leading to economic hardship, and threatening physical/mental health and sustainability [1][2][3][4]. Due to restrictions on faceto-face contact by stay-at-home and social distancing orders, more people are suffering from anxiety, depression, loneliness, and frustration, which has escalated materialistic value orientation or the desire for mental well-being [1,[3][4][5][6]. However, the pandemic has accelerated the utilization of internet communication technologies (ICT) in working and shopping [7,8].…”

“…Although the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the accommodation and transport sectors in the sharing economy by restricting people's movements [5], it is widely accepted that engagements in the sharing economy via ICT-enabled platforms can contribute to sustainability by utilizing limited resources efficiently and reducing the amount of waste disposal, as well as allowing people to access and use necessary items without purchasing and possessing them [10,11,14]. Because the COVID-19 pandemic has not only impacted the sharing economy but also affected people's values, lifestyles, and consumption patterns [1,3], it is essential to clarify how the pursuit of material or spiritual well-being is related to consumers' responses to CSS in the pandemic context. Therefore, this study focuses on the effects of values and lifestyle on attitudes and intentions toward CSS during the pandemic.…”

“…There are mixed views on how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the intensity of MV and VSL. Whereas some studies argued that the pandemic escalated MV to cope with uneasiness and the threat of death [4,6], another study claimed that such an influence is limited [3]. Furthermore, whereas there is a postulation that the pandemic has stirred up sustainable consumption motivated by VSL [31], another argument claims that the consciousness of ecology, society, and voluntary simplicity has deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby reducing sustainable consumption [2].…”

Hypocrisy in ethical consumption

“…Conspicuous consumption, an antonym to frugality, can be framed as either morally permissible or objectionable depending on the values that are salient at the time of the behaviour ( Goenka and Thomas, 2020 ). Understanding the relationships between frugality motives and sustainable behaviours thus needs further research, particularly given the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s attitudes towards money, materialism, and consumption ( Moldes et al, 2022 ). To address this issue, this research directly contrasts the desire to be frugal, in terms of spending less, and the desire to act ethically.…”