A Field Study On Conspicuous Consumption Tendencies Of Youth: Konya Example

As the consumer expenditures and economic potential of the societies' increase, researches on the consumer culture studying the impacts of these developments gain more importance. Individuals' status in the society is measured by the objects they consume and individuals' image is defined by the objects they consume. Today, people define their identities and personalities with what they consume. A hedonist culture is indoctrinated to the minds by both organizations and the society. Consumers tend to buy goods which are hard to find for exhibiting their social status in a striking manner because they want to state their uniqueness's, they try to express themselves by consuming luxurious products to display their status. Discussed by Veblen in the theory of the Leisure Class, the “conspicuous consumption” is based on the fact that consumption is liked and appreciated by other people and it still represents a strong criticism of neo-classical consumption theory. The primary aim of this study is to examine the consumption perception of students studying at state and private universities in Konya under Veblen's conspicuous consumption concept. The study aims to exhibit university students' conspicuous consumption tendencies according to their socio-cultural and demographic features. It is a field study carried out according to quantitative research design. Questionnaire is used as data collection tool in the study. The sample of the study is consisted of students studying at state and private universities in Konya. Convenience sampling method was used for sample selection. At the end of the study; it was seen that the students who are in high-income group, who are not living with their families and who have a monthly income of 1200-1500 Turkish Liras are more inclined to conspicuous consumption than others.