A new study has revealed what people are really doing during lockdown
Comscore surveyed over 10,000 people in the US to find out about how our habits have changed during coronavirus lockdown. The results showed that people are turning to television and video games, but also a few surprising… alternate pastimes.
50% of 18-34 year-olds are playing more video games than usual each week, according to Comscore’s study. It’s not just the younger generation either, with 25% of over-55s saying that they too are spending more time on video games than usual during lockdown.
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We’ve certainly seen plenty of evidence of this boom-time for gaming. Nintendo Switches particularly have been flying off the (digital) shelves, as has the platform’s latest hit game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Sales of PS4 and Xbox One consoles have been boosted too, with plenty of sales on games across platforms.
TV and movies have been even more popular than gaming, with 71% of survey respondents saying that they’re watching more TV and movies than usual. That success has been seen most notably in Netflix’s doubling of their net subscriber increase predictions.
The platform was aiming for an increase of seven million net subscribers in Q1 but got around 16 million, according to its latest letter to investors.
While it’s no shock that lockdown has boosted gaming and TV-watching, one or two of the survey’s other findings were a little more surprising – for instance, while 29% of 18-34 year-olds said that they were taking more online classes, or courses, than usual, only 5% of over-55s were doing the same. That stat seems particularly interesting when contrasted with the aforementioned numbers on video gaming.
The fact that a quarter of the older survey-takers were accessing video games more than usual shows that a large amount of them were not digital-phobic – so why the low uptake on mind-broadening online courses?
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However, while 18-34 year olds are being more constructive in taking on online learning, they’re also more likely to be tempted into online shopping. 46% in the lower age bracket said they had bought more items online than usual, while only 36% of over-55s said the same.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.