Consumers' love for technological gadgets is linked to personal growth

Loving technological gadgets could be considered an expression of material values, and thereby a behavior that is associated with reduced well-being. In two studies (N = 926, American and Canadian adults), we investigate whether gadget loving is associated with indicators of well-being that, to date, have gone undocumented by research. Results from a pilot study show that although people, overall, perceive technological gadgets to be materialistic purchases (compared to all tested product categories) and consumers of these products to be materialistic people (particularly when gadgets are purchased for novelty vs. utility), individual differences in gadget loving are most associated with learning motives rather than motives associated with materialism (e.g., status signaling). Results from the main study (a cross-sectional survey wherein participants completed individual difference measures of gadget loving, orientation-to-happiness, competence, and personal growth) indicate that (1) gadget loving interacts with an orientation-to-engagement (but not pleasure) to relate to greater personal growth, and (2) this interaction is explained by increases in competence. These results contravene the assumption that gadget loving is solely a manifestation of materialism.