The Relationship between Metaphorical Perceptions of Consumption and Mental Well-Being in the Period of COVID-19

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between the interpretation of the consumption concept of individuals and their mental well-being levels during the pandemic period. Metaphors are the essential communication tools used in defining and interpreting the consumption concept. The effort to reveal the interpretations loaded on a complex and multidimensional concept such as individuals' consumption expresses the important contribution of this research. The fact that these interpretations were made during the pandemic turned individuals' lives upside-down increases the degree of contribution. The study's originality has been tried to be revealed by establishing a relationship between the interpretations of the consumption phenomenon of individuals and their mental well-being. The Conceptual Metaphor Theory developed by Lakoff and Johnson was used in metaphorical interpretation. The metaphorical approach, which is one of the alternative approaches based on subjective experiences, enables the comprehension of concrete and well-known concepts, abstract concepts, symbols, or elements that are more difficult and complex to understand. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) was used to determine the mental well-being levels of individuals. All the metaphors developed and evaluated regarding the concept of consumption have been grouped into three conceptual categories: «pleasure, insatiability and vanity», «necessity and requirement», and «addictive and harmful». In this study, the mental well-being average of all participants was calculated as 53.46. The lowest average was calculated in the «addictive and harmful» category according to conceptual categories in terms of mental well-being averages. It was determined that the mental well-being averages of the participants who interpreted the concept of consumption as «negative» were also low.