By now, it is widely acknowledged that COVID-19 has a significant impact on the global population. The most visible impacts can be seen in economic and financial aspects, in which the Indonesian population is certainly not spared.
An aspect that may be overlooked, and thus not yet measured as extensively, is the emotional impact. As society is forced to limit out-of-home activities, we are experiencing changes in ways of working, living with family, and taking care of them. We face emotional stressors; boredom, risk of losing income, the anxiety of family members getting infected by COVID-19. All of these worries affect us emotionally as a whole society.
‘Emotional spending’ is a familiar term, which is understood as an act of purchasing something not from necessity, but rather out of emotional triggers such as feeling stressed out, bored, under-appreciated, incompetent, or any other unhappy sentiments. Hence, it is a point of interest to deep dive into how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts society’s emotional state, and if it increases some areas of spending as the result.
Read the full report here.
