"You can't buy happiness"

Kurt Cobain stated in one of his many interviews, "Well, yeah, you can't buy happiness".

*awkward silence with crickets playing in the background*

Ehm, excuuuuse me Kurt, but when I received the super cute swimsuit that I ordered online, I was ecstatic!

Don't get me wrong, I agree with Cobain... up to a point. I agree in terms of romanticism and the ability to live without the need to rely to materials, and allow them to define your state of happiness. However, realistically, studies say otherwise.

According to a study conducted by Rickins in 1987, it was found that Australians, as long as they had a meaningful personal relationship, a rewarding hobby and about 100,000$ a year, they would achieve the golden triangle of happiness. If their income was lower than that, their health would be affected by high stress levels, therefore their happiness would be affected too. Of course, this magic number changes in every country, depending on their culture, their needs, their living standards.

But, what about online buying? Can an online purchase affect your levels of happiness?

One of the very first things that come to my mind when I consider buying online, is the waiting time until it is delivered to your home. Every time I order something, the wait for it to arrive is thrilling! I can't wait to receive the package, rip it in pieces and be united with my lovely purchase!

Another 3-part study by Rickins in 2013 (damn man, have a break), found out that buyers were happy before and even after their purchase. However, when they finally received their product, their happiness state was less intensive, than when waiting for the product to arrive. In both cases they were happy, only the duration and the intensity of the happiness was different.

Another great part of buying online is the browsing. Even of you don't have the ability to purchase a product (in terms of budget), you have the ability to look it up as many times you like, check online how to use and how to style it, and picture yourself with this product. This also adds to the whole consumers experience and may affect your levels of happiness. This process is called Retail Therapy, and according to Rick, Periera & Burson (2014), the majority of their studies participants stated that they are more likely to shop when they're are sad in order to improve their mood, because they feel more in-control of their life and their decisions (even if that means picking up a pair of shoes or a new jacket).

So, sorry to break the bubble to the Romantics, but apparently, in the age Web 3.0, you might not be able to buy happiness, but you can buy online, which make's it pretty much the same.

Sources

M. Richins (1987) ,"Media, Materialism, and Human Happiness", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 14, eds. Melanie Wallendorf and Paul Anderson, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 352-356.

M. Richins, (2013), "When Wanting Is Better than Having: Materialism, Transformation Expectations, and Product-Evoked Emotions in the Purchase Process, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 40, No. 1 (June 2013), pp. 1-18

S., Rick, B. Periera, K Burson,(2014), "The benefits of retail therapy: Making purchase decisions reduces residual sadness", Journal of Consumer PsychologyVolume 24, Issue 3, 373–380