Sociological explanation of factors affecting the development of consumer culture in the metropolis of Tehran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.A. of Social Welfare Planning, Faculty of Social Studies, Allame Tabatabaie University, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Social Welfare Planning, Faculty of Social Studies, Allame Tabatabaie University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/scart.2025.139958.1391

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to explain the spread of consumer culture in the metropolis of Tehran. The residents of the metropolises are continuously and increasingly exposed to the onslaught of images, signs, and manifestations of consumer culture arising from the market system, whose immediacy, plurality, and strong effects constantly threaten and destroy the individuality, self-awareness, and power of choice of consumers. This situation has a decisive impact on the emotions, feelings, tastes, moods, and lifestyles of the actors, so that sometimes we can talk about the prevalence of consumer-oriented lifestyles among the residents of the metropolis, which leads to consequences such as emotional dissatisfaction, psychological boredom, and mental exhaustion. The field of study of the present study is the residents of the metropolis of Tehran. The method used is quantitative and survey-type, and the data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The sampling method is of the probability type, based on which 363 people have successfully completed the questionnaire. Since the data had an almost normal distribution and dispersion, parametric statistical methods have been used. The findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between consumer culture and the variables under study. Among the background factors, a significant relationship has been seen between the variables of age and income and consumer culture, and the luxury hypothesis with 59% was the strongest explanatory and predictor of consumer culture. This can be considered a consequence of the capitalist and diverse market system of modern society. Consumer culture, as a social construct with different quantity and quality in different welfare states of individuals, is affected by the global system and its deceptive factors.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

منابع   
بودریار، ژان (1394). جامعه مصرفی؛ اسطوره­ها و ساختارها. ترجمه پیروز ایزدی، تهران: نشر ثالث.
بوردیو، پیر (1391). تمایز: نقد اجتماعی قضاوت­های ذوقی. ترجمۀ حسن چاوشیان، تهران: نشر ثالث.
پتریک، تونی فیتس (1383). نظریه رفاه. ترجمه هرمز همایون­پور، نشریه موسسه پژوهش تامین اجتماعی.
پورتس، الهاندرو (1385). سرمایۀ اجتماعی، خاستگاه و کاربردهایش در جامعه­شناسی مدرن. ترجمۀ افشین خاکباز و حسین پویان، تهران: نشر تیراژه.
خواجه­نوری، بیژن؛ مساوات، ابراهیم (1397). مطالعه رابطه‌ی سبک زندگی و رفتار مصرف­کننده (مطالعۀ موردی: شهر شیراز زنان متأهل). فصلنامه زن و جامعه، 10 (2)، 283-302.
وبلن، تورستین (1392). نظریه طبقه تن­آسا. ترجمه فرهنگ ارشاد، تهران: نشر نی.
صفری شالی، رضا؛ هزار جریبی، جعفر ( 1396). بررسی میزان احساس برخورداری از رفاه اجتماعی و عوامل موثر بر آن. فصلنامه برنامه­ریزی رفاه و توسعه اجتماعی، 8 (30)، 177-224. 
 
References
Argyle, M. (2013). The psychology of happiness. Routledge.
Ardestani, Z. A., Panahi, M., Ebrahimi, A. H., & Parvizi, E. (2024). How urban shopping malls in Tehran have changed in the post‐COVID era. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 16(2), 12628.
Diener, E. (2006). Guidelines for national indicators of subjective well-being and ill-being. Applied research in quality of life, 1(2), 151-157.
Habibi, L., & Mahmoudi Paty, F. (2017). From bazaar to shopping centers: Analysis of the evolution of modern commercial spaces in Tehran. The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-e Nazar, 14(49), 45-56.
Harvey, D. (2010). Social justice and the city (Vol. 1). University of Georgia press.
Khosravi, S. (2017). Precarious lives: Waiting and hope in Iran. In Precarious Lives. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Sadjed, A. (2016). Consumer culture and the design of a modern self in Iran: the cultivation of mind and body in Iranian lifestyle magazines. Review of Social Studies, 3(1), 1-24.
Shahghasemi, E. (2021). Rich kids of Tehran: The consumption of consumption on the internet in Iran. Society, 58(5), 398-405.
Simmel, G. (1971). On Indiviuality and Social Forms. edited by O.N. Levine, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Simon, R. J., & Bennett, A. (2009). Happiness the world over. Gender issues, 26(3), 183.
Veenhoven, R. (2009). Well-being in nations and well-being of nations: Is there a conflict between individual and society? Social Indicators Research, 91(1), 5-21.
.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics