Joy of Missing Out (JoMO), Voluntary Simplicity, and Responsible Consumption: Examining Direct and Indirect Associations in an Emerging Market Context
Journal of Sustainability, cilt.2, sa.2, 2026 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 2 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.55845/55qgza47
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Sustainability
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Conscious Consumption, Digital Well-Being, Emerging Markets, Joy of Missing Out, Self-Determination Theory, Simple Living Philosophy, Sustainable Behaviour
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study examines the direct association between the joy of missing out (JoMO) and responsible consumption behaviour, and tests whether this association is channelled indirectly through voluntary simplicity. Drawing on self-determination theory and the digital well-being perspective, the study explores whether a disposition toward positive solitude and digital disengagement (JoMO) is associated with sustainable consumption. Turkey constitutes a theoretically meaningful setting for this inquiry, as it combines rapidly expanding digital consumption habits and status-oriented purchasing patterns with an emerging, yet still limited, culture of sustainability awareness and simple living, creating a distinctive tension between consumer culture and voluntary restraint. Data were collected through an online survey from 1,015 participants using a geographically distributed, quota-based online convenience sample structured according to the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Structural equation modelling was employed for analysis. The findings indicate that JoMO is associated with responsible consumption (RC) orientation primarily indirectly, through the simple living philosophy dimension of voluntary simplicity; the direct JoMO–RC association was only marginal in the baseline model and did not survive a robustness check controlling for demographic covariates (gender, age, income). The conscious consumption (CC)–RC and SLP–RC paths were robust to these demographic controls but attenuated to non-significance under a common-method-variance-adjusted model and should therefore be treated as method-sensitive. The overall mediating role of voluntary simplicity was not statistically confirmed. Additionally, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses reveal an empirically two-dimensional structure of voluntary simplicity in the Turkish context, comprising CC and SLP. As the JoMO measure showed limited convergent validity and its retained items reflect a positive-solitude/autonomy orientation rather than digital disconnection per se, findings involving JoMO warrant cautious interpretation. The findings contribute to sustainability, slow marketing, and digital well-being literature by positioning JoMO as a psychological correlate of responsible consumption.