FCRP - Culture

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Browsing FCRP - Culture by Author "Frunzaru, Valeriu"

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    Materialism and Life Satisfaction. A Sociological and Christian Comparative Approach
    (2017) Frunzaru, Valeriu; Frunzaru, Elena Monica
    "This paper discusses the similarities and differences between sociological and Christian approaches (focused on the Bible and the Church Fathers’ teachings) regarding the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. The theoretical analysis gives reasons that advocate the view that there are resemblances between the two perspectives regarding materialism (greed or avarice in theological language) features and the impact of these values on life satisfaction. Both approaches argue for a less materialistic way of life in order to become generally happier. Nevertheless, if science gives research-based proofs to this relationship, Christianity states that worship of God, and not material goods, is the only way to get true happiness. Finally, the paper attempts to give some possible explanations for these similarities between sociology and Christianity. First, similarly to the Christian religion, some sociologists (i.e. Marx, Veblen, and Beaudrillard) criticise materialism and consumption society. Second, the scale construction can rely on popular notions of materialism, thus some items can have religious backgrounds. Eventually, the Bible and the Church Fathers’ special concern with the human nature lead to some thoughts about man that have been confirmed by researchers."
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    Materialistic Values, Shopping, and Life Satisfaction in Romania
    (Editura Academiei Române, 2015) Frunzaru, Valeriu; Popa, Elena Monica
    "Numerous studies have shown that generally materialists are less happy than those lower in materialism. Several studies confirm that people who experience a lower level of life satisfaction are more interested in shopping; therefore materialism determines directly and indirectly (mediated by life satisfaction) the desire of going shopping. There are only few studies that deal with this topic within Romanian consumers. The conceptual model proposed here was tested on a convenience sample of 390 Romanians. Using structural equation modelling, our findings confirm the hypothetical model only partially. Materialism leads to life dissatisfaction and shopping, but life dissatisfaction does not increase shopping. To the contrary, there is a positive relationship between life satisfaction and the desire for shopping. One possible explanation is that Romanians perceive materialism as a positive attitude. Anyway, nuances should be considered regarding the role of money and possession in bringing life satisfaction."
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    Social Networking Websites Usage and Life Satisfaction: A Study of Materialist Values Shared by Facebook Users
    (2015) Frunzaru, Valeriu; Boțan, Mădălina
    This paper attempts to analyze how materialist values mediate the relationship between time spent onsocial networking websites (SNW) and overall life satisfaction. Admittedly, younger generations spend moretime on SNW compared to older generations, therefore we can anticipate that younger people are more af-fected by materialism and, consequently, less satisfied with their lives. The conceptual model proposed herewas tested on a convenience sample of 390 Romanian adults. Using structural equation modeling, our find-ings validate the hypothesis that younger people spend more time on SNW; the SNW usage makes themmore materialistic and, as a result, less satisfied with life. These findings raise ethical questions regarding the impact of SNW on overall life satisfaction. For ex-ample, Facebook, the most popular SNW in Romania, is a virtual social sphere where people become “friends”,give or receive “likes”, are “fans” of something or somebody, etc. Therefore, we argue that Facebook is asymbolical locus for quantitative manifestations of something intimate and private, like feelings or appreci-ations. Such materialist approach to friendship and relationships has a significant negative impact on lifesatisfaction.