Stock Market Plummets, So Why Are Some Celebrating?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Callum Booth, Contributor.
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Callum Booth covers the intersection of art and internet culture. Mar 12, 2025
The U.S. stock market has had a rocky week, losing $4 trillion in value. While this might appear to be a cause of concern, some corners of the internet are celebrating and mocking S&P and DOW markets nosebombing. The question, of course, is why?
This gleeful and sneering reaction the United States' stock market plummeting isn't something everyone on social media is participating in, instead being a subsection. Despite that, it gives us a fascinating glimpse into how the internet helps us make sense of the world.
First though, some context: Why is the stock market falling? What's happening?
As with any aspect of the economy, it's hard to put precise reasons on why the market is reacting this way. Some publications, such as CNN, point to the impact of tariffs imposed on various countries, including Canada.
While others observed how the stock market plummeting can be related to investor pessimism, and people looking for safer ways to store their money.
What is inarguable, though, is that U.S. stock market is struggling:
But let's be clear: the goal of this piece isn't to look at the causes or reasons behind the stock market collapse, there are plenty of other articles out there doing that. Instead, our aim is to dive a little bit deeper into a very particular reaction to this event that some are displaying online: celebratory mockery.
Another way of positioning this reaction is as an example of schadenfreude, a term used to explain taking glee in someone's suffering—and that's a key reason to explaining why some people are reacting to the stock market dip in this way.
Analyzing Why Some On Social Media Are Mocking The Plunging U.S. Stock Market
The most surface level and obvious reason why some may be celebrating and mocking the stock market crash revolves around political allegiances. People disagree with the actions of the current U.S. administration and, therefore, see this as an opportunity to lash out.
Despite the veracity of this, I believe there's another layer operating here that's particularly fascinating—and that's to do with wealth inequality, fairness and rebalancing.
Money-wise, the U.S. is an unequal economy, with the top 1% of households owning 15 times more wealth than the bottom 50% combined.
To put that another way, there's a small subsection of people in the United States who are substantially wealthier than the majority of the population. It's many in this top bracket who have the disposable income available to invest in the stock market who are being hit by this crash.
So… why the celebration? What's causing this mockery and glee at misfortune?
One way of explaining this is about a desire for fairness. Studies show that one reason some people online celebrate the "humiliation" of celebrities is because it shows they can be impacted by forces out of their control too.
Researchers posit that one reason behind this is due to economic forces that regular people suffer. Because they are unable to control, say, how much fuel is, they experience a sense of unfairness with the world. So when powerful figures are brought down, the public find a sense of joy in this rebalancing.
The same psychology is occurring with this schadenfreude-filled reaction about the U.S. stock market crashing.
The majority of Americans are unlikely to have significant investments in the S&P or DOW, but will be aware that there are others making a large amount of money from these markets. The data backs this up. The wealthiest 10% of Americans own 93% of stocks.
When the stock market crashes then, it can be argued that this is a sense of fairness re-establishing itself. To put that another way, watching people who are likely wealthier than you suffer and be subject to things they can't control can make some feel equal, despite the vast wealth differences in the U.S.
Of course, not everyone on social media is expressing joy at the plummeting stock market, but those that are are an interesting case study. They displays how social media can be used as a way to demand, and engage with, ideas of fairness—all through the power of making some silly jokes.
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