Effect on Life Satisfaction of Beauty Activities in the MZ Generation: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

The present study aims to investigate the effects of beauty activities on life satisfaction and self-esteem of Generation MZ, and to derive the correlation between them. This is of particular importance due to the increasing demand for beauty activities, which is resulting in Generation MZ becoming an important host of the beauty and cosmetics industry. To this end, an online questionnaire was administered to 473 males and females from Generation MZ between 6th May and 20th May 2023 in Busan, Ulsan, Seoul, and Gyeonggi-do. The collected data underwent statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.0results indicated that self-esteem emerged as the predominant factor influencing physical satisfaction and overall life satisfaction, followed by evaluative factors, social factors, and competence factors. The order of significance for social and economic satisfaction was determined as evaluative factors, competence factors, and social factors. The hypothesis proposing that self-esteem would mediate the effect of beauty activities on life satisfaction was substantiated by evaluative factors, social factors, and competence factors. These results can be used as a basis for improving the management of beauty services targeting the MZ generation, marketing materials and promotional strategies, and beauty education.