For many people, the answer was a soft yes, even if it was insignificant and fleeting. So how did money impact joy during the pandemic? BuzzFeed News asked readers and staff about the things they’ve bought during this dark time, and how it shaped their views on the age-old question: Can money actually buy happiness? We got responses from all around the US and other countries as well. Many people, stuck inside their homes but fortunate enough to have some money to spend, tried to shop their way out of gloom, buying things to try to alleviate the tedium, even if just for a moment, even if somewhere deep down they didn’t even feel like shopping.
As vaccines get doled out and the risk of COVID-19 - at least in the US - begins to dwindle, many people are feeling something they have not experienced much of in over a year: joy.īetween a virus that’s killed over half a million Americans, widespread unemployment, a nationwide reckoning with white supremacy, a caustic presidential election, and a deadly coup attempt on the Capitol, joy could be a hard thing to find during the pandemic.