The results by age group show that the amount of housework naturally
increases with age, but the pandemic has forced people in all
generations to commit more of it than before. It must be the consequence
of people staying at home longer. The leisure activities decreased for
all age groups, but the magnitude was noticeably large among people
below 25. This may be because more mature people could substitute
restricted leisure activities (e.g., partying, going to concerts, and
joining public events) with unrestricted private activities (e.g.,
gardening and going for a drive). They can also substitute behaviors in
crowded places with ones in non-crowded places (e.g., fishing and
camping). Those substituted leisure activities often require some
equipment or sufficient private space in the house, and those may be
harder to obtain for young people who tend to live in small apartments
and have less money. Shopping occasions significantly decreased for all
age groups, but this seems to be performed generally less frequently by
very young people. This may be because they are more likely to live with
their parents, reducing the necessity for grocery shopping.
Regarding spending time with family and friends, the oldest group
appears to have done so less often than the younger groups before the
outbreak, consistent with the notion that social connections shrink
among elderlies [17]. The magnitude of decrease for this activity
was, however, equivalent for all age groups. The occasions of traveling
are also less frequent for the oldest group at the before-condition,
maybe due to physical mobility limitations. However, a noticeably more
significant decrease was observed for the youngest group. The use of
public transports decreased greatly for all generations, but the extent
was more prominent for the younger groups because the use of a private
car would increase by age.
The amount of housework, leisure activities, and spending time with
family and friends look different between males and females. The women
reported much more housework than men for the before-condition, but the
overall amount increased considerably for both genders. Interestingly,
only female participants realized the decrease in leisure activities,
which may relate to their extra housework, limiting their free time for
leisure. The occasions of spending time with family and friends
decreased greatly for both genders, but the responses from women
indicated they performed these acts more often than men in general.
Housewives with children, which are 25% of the current female sample,
are likely to spend a significant amount of time with parents of their
children’s friends (whom they may call their friends) during the day,
and this might be reflected in the larger proportion of this activity
reported by women.
Looking at the data by participants’ marital status, single people
reported a greater number of behaviors relating to eating out, going
shopping, and using public transports than married people. The extent of
decrease in those activities was also greater for the singles. The
amount of housework is generally greater for married people, while the
increase during the pandemic was equivalent for both groups. These
results reflect that single people have more free time and still commit
to actions such as eating out and going shopping more often than married
people under the pandemic. However, spending time with family and
friends seems to less frequently happen for single people in general.
This may reflect the activities of the housewives with other parents
(see above) and an increased number of family members they need to spend
time with due to marriage.
Having children impacted the behaviors of housework, shopping, and using
public transports. Housework and shopping are committed more often by
people with children than those without in general, as expected. The
decrease in shopping did not differ across the two groups, but the
increase in housework was more salient for the people without children.
These results imply that people with children generally spend more time
at home, having more housework and shopping needs than people without
them, regardless of the pandemic. Therefore, the increase in those
activities during the pandemic was less salient to them than to people
without children. The pandemic forced children to stay home longer
(e.g., an increased amount of homeschooling), which might be related to
the increased housework for the parents. The use of public transports
decreased for both groups, but the extent was much more significant for
the people without kids, indicating that people with kids have a
stronger tendency to use private transports when they go out.
Finally, household income is below or above the average influenced
housework and spending time with family and friends. People with lower
incomes spent more time on housework than people with higher incomes but
spent less time with family and friends. The poorer people may spend
more time at home, likely due to financial reasons. Limited finances may
also make them refrain from outsourcing housework or childcare,
resulting in less free time than affluent people.
In addition to the activities discussed above, the pandemic outbreak
massively increased prevention measures in our daily lives. The present
results show that wearing face masks and washing hands are most
practiced. Interestingly, older participants did not mention prevention
measures as often as younger participants, consistent with a past study
showing that older people have implemented fewer prevention behaviors
than younger people [11]. Household income also impacted the
appearance rate of prevention measures, showing that people with higher
income reported activities in this category 20% more than those with
lower income.