Representação social de qualidade de vida para pessoas adeptas da simplicidade voluntária

Abstract

This study sought to know the social representations of quality of life for people who adhere to voluntary simplicity. It was intended to analyze the life simplification practices adopted by this group, the motivations that led them to adhere to this lifestyle and the meanings attributed to quality of life. To achieve the proposed objective, the research was divided into two stages, the first stage being a documental research on the virtual social network Youtube and the second, a survey with 56 participants. Bardin's content analysis was performed as an analysis of both stages. The execution of two stages in this research aimed to complement the data obtained through different instruments, to expand the study of social representations of quality of life in this group. The results indicated that virtual social networks influenced the lives of some people to adopt this lifestyle. Participants pointed out that a good quality of life means having a set of aspects such as: health, leisure, social life, organized finances, available time, good food, safety and education. In this sense, adopting voluntary simplicity as a lifestyle allowed them to have more time for themselves and their family, experiences, financial savings, organization, health and environmental awareness, which are congruent with what they believe about having a satisfactory quality of life. Thus, the results indicated that the social representations of quality of life for the participants seem to be congruent with their daily practices. Finally, virtual groups seem to have become the main means of strengthening belonging to a group and constructing the meanings and values of minimalism.