CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION of ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING DEVICES and SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING of BANGKOKIANS

Abstract

Empirical evidence of the conspicuous consumption theory is limited and ambiguous. It has been shown, however, that the consumption of life experiences makes people happier than the consumption of material goods. Yet, these studies typically conduct dichotomous comparisons and do not distinguish between conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption. Conspicuous and inconspicuous online social networking devices (OSND) are experiential goods and as such fall between life experiences and material goods. The objective of this paper, thus, is to examine the relationship between conspicuous consumption of OSND and subjective well-being, which is proxied by happiness and mental health. Cross-sectional data (n=500) were collected in 2015 using probability sampling. The ordered logistic regression results reveal that conspicuous consumption of OSND is negatively related with happiness and mental health in all regressions as hypothesized, while the coefficient on inconspicuous consumption of OSND is positive. Also, the number of virtual friends is negatively associated with happiness. Among the control variables, it is noteworthy that respondents with high blood pressure, used to capture physical health, have lower happiness and mental health, while respondents with higher education and high own monthly income exhibit higher happiness and mental health. Respondents, whose personality can best be characterized as "agreeable", have lower happiness and mental health which is in line with the old saying that "nice guys finish last". © 2019 World Scientific Publishing Company.