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In a world that profits from our outrage, what would happen if we deliberately spread joy instead?

That question wasn’t on my mind until this week, when a song, a piece of research and a new word collided in my social media feed. That word was joybaiting.

Joy is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as a feeling of great happiness. Yet recent research suggests it is something more nuanced and perhaps more powerful than happiness alone.

What the Research Reveals About Joy

A 2025 research article “The complexities of joy: a qualitative study of joy cultivation, loss of joy, and happiness in British adults argues that joy should be understood as a unique and important aspect of wellbeing rather than simply a synonym for happiness.

The researchers found that joy is often experienced as a profound and meaningful emotion that emerges through significant relationships, personal growth, gratitude, love and moments of connection. While happiness was viewed as a broader emotional state, joy was described as a powerful response to experiences that carry deep personal meaning.

One of the most interesting findings was that joy can coexist with life’s challenges. Participants acknowledged that joy is rarely constant. It can be interrupted by stress, emotional burdens, difficult relationships and societal pressures. Yet even during difficult times, joyful memories often remain a source of resilience, hope and meaning.

Five Insights into Joy

1. Joy is different from happiness

Participants consistently described joy as deeper and more intense than happiness. It was associated with meaningful experiences, gratitude, love and a sense of personal significance rather than everyday contentment.

2. Relationships are one of the strongest sources of joy

Positive connections with family, friends and loved ones were among the most frequently mentioned contributors to joy. Supportive relationships helped people experience and sustain joyful feelings over time.

3. Joy can be diminished by emotional and social challenges

Stress, negative relationships, societal pressures and emotional burdens were all identified as barriers that can make joy harder to access.

4. Nature helps cultivate joy

Time spent outdoors and engagement with nature were highlighted as practical and effective ways to nurture joyful feelings.

5. Joy can be intentionally cultivated

Joybaiting

A word I learned this week.

As an elder millennial, every now and then a new term crosses my path and I find myself thinking, that makes perfect sense. Not because the phenomenon is new but because the language captures something I have experienced, noticed or perhaps even needed, without ever quite having a name for it.

This week’s discovery came courtesy of Joy, a song by the artist RAYE.

Perhaps the most encouraging finding is that joy does not simply happen to us. Participants spoke about actively nurturing joy through gratitude, self awareness, meaningful activities and positive social connections

What RAYE’s Joy Made Me Think About

RAYE is a force, not just musically but in the energy she brings to everything she creates. Her creativity, lyricism, resilience and conviction come together in a story that is equal parts determination and hope.

She is one of those artists whose journey reminds us that talent alone is not always enough. Sometimes you also need stubborn belief, the courage to begin again and a refusal to make yourself smaller to fit someone else’s expectations.

Her latest album, This Music May Contain Hope, has been on repeat in my car so often that I have genuinely lost count. It is full of what we used to call absolute bangers.

Chances are you have already heard at least one track, perhaps the viral Where’s My Husband, which has been making the rounds on social media with the kind of chaotic joy only the internet can produce.

But I digress.

This blog is about Joy, one of my favourite songs on the album.

I declare and I decree, any chain that has been holding me…

The song feels like an anthem; uplifting, energising and restorative. On grey days it lifts my spirits without fail. There is something about the combination of message and rhythm that feels almost like an empowering sermon.

Well this week RAYE finally released the video for Joy and thanks to my social media algorithm; I found myself watching the video under a hashtag I had never encountered before:
#joybaiting

The Rise of Joybaiting

Joybaiting is one of those internet born words that feels oddly intuitive the moment you hear it.

The term appears to have emerged from online communities looking for a way to describe a specific type of content. Videos, images and stories designed to spark joy.

Not in a manipulative “click here for happiness” kind of way.

Something gentler than that.

Something more intentional.

The concept borrows from the idea of clickbait but swaps sensationalism for delight.

• A group of strangers dancing together in a train station.
• A grandparent seeing a grandchild take their first steps.
• Someone sharing a small victory, a silly joke or an unexpectedly beautiful moment.

These are the kinds of things that remind us humans can still be hopeful, kind, ridiculous and wonderfully connected.

Joybaiting is the intentional creation or sharing of those moments.

It does not pretend pain and struggle do not exist. Instead, it acknowledges the heaviness of the world while offering a counterbalance. A small pocket of light. A brief moment of relief.

The digital equivalent of someone gently tapping you on the shoulder and saying:

“Here. Something good happened.”

The term has gained traction on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram where creators use tags like joybait and joybaiting to signal exactly that purpose. To uplift. To soothe. To remind.

In many ways it feels like a collective response to doomscrolling. A refusal to let despair dominate the feed and perhaps that is why the word resonated with me so strongly.

Given the choice, I would pick joybait over clickbait every time.

Why Joybaiting Matters Right Now

We live in a time when online spaces often amplify outrage, hostility and division.

Algorithms reward conflict, comment sections spiral and disagreements become battlegrounds.

In the middle of all that noise, joy can start to feel like a scarce resource. Something we have to actively seek out and protect.

So when I came across the term joybaiting, I saw more than a social media trend.

I saw a small act of rebellion.

A reminder that joy can be intentional.

That sharing joy is a choice.

That creating opportunities for joy is, in its own way, a form of resistance.

I often write about the challenges facing our world. Human challenges, social challenges and the pressures on our natural and built environments. The systems that need changing and the The inequities that demand attention.

And I will continue writing about those things because they matter deeply.

But joy matters too.

• Joy does not erase injustice but it can strengthen us for the work ahead.
• Joy does not solve climate change but it reminds us what we are trying to protect.
• Joy does not heal social division but it can help us remain open, curious and connected.

At its heart, joybaiting says:

“Here is something good. Take a moment to feel it.”

And in a world that can sometimes feel increasingly hostile, anything that spreads a little joy, a little love and a little reminder of our shared humanity feels worth celebrating

A Final Word on Joy

RAYE’s Joy video is full of small moments of generosity, movement, colour, community and unapologetic celebration. It is the kind of visual that makes you smile without meaning to.

A reminder that there is love and hope out there.

Sometimes it arrives through a song, a video, a moment, a smile or a sunflower from a stranger on any ordinary day or week.

Before You Go

I have no connection to RAYE (the artist), no backstage access and certainly no secret music industry contacts. I am simply an admirer of her music, her message and her remarkable ability to sprinkle a little more joy into the week.

Thank you for reading.