Narratives of Everyday Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Finland

Finland, a Nordic welfare state with a high level of overall wellbeing, has maintained citizens’ stable trust in its ability to care for them and their best interests. This sense of security was shaken when the first COVID-19 infections were found in Finland in March 2020, which led to high infection rates and restrictions that were tightened and loosened at different points in time, which affected the everyday activities of Finns. Even though Finland did not impose a complete lockdown, the government’s recommendation for those aged 70 years and above to self-quarantine was interpreted as a serious restriction of free movement. Employing narrative analysis, this chapter explores older Finns’ experiences and the stories they construct of what it was like to live through the pandemic. The data comprise written narratives by Finns aged over 60 years of age, gathered in the autumn of 2021. These narratives illustrate a variety of experiences and interpretations of the pandemic. Significantly, the findings indicate the important meaning of routines and habits, and the ways in which they were adapted to new kinds of practices. Individuals’ reflections also reveal the subtle balancing acts that older adults had to perform between mere compliance and personal adaption. Importantly, narratives revealed here show the multifarious ways that older people regained their agency by positioning and portraying themselves as full members of society.