Social Activities during Physical Isolation

14 Apr 2020

Q. Are you doing any of the following to compensate for spending less time with friends and family since the start of physical isolation rules?

		Gender			Age Group
	Total	Male	Female	18-34		35-54	55+
I spend more time contacting people by text messaging, phone calls or online chats	57%	50%	64%	61%		53%	58%
I’ve participated in online group catch ups	28%	29%	26%	43%		28%	14%
I’ve sent gifts to friends and family	14%	14%	13%	19%		13%	11%
I’ve started online activities with friends and family (e.g. online fitness, education classes)	21%	22%	20%	38%		20%	8%
None of these	28%	33%	23%	16%		30%	35%
Base (n)	1,068	537	531	343		340	385

Staying in touch with people by telephone or messaging is the most popular way to overcome issues about social isolation, being used by 57% of people. Since the physical isolation restrictions, 28% have participated in group catch-ups in lieu of physically meeting, and 21% have started online activities such as fitness sessions or online education classes.
Women were more likely than men to be calling or texting friends and family (64% to 50%).
84% of those aged 18-34 have engaged in some activity to overcome the isolation. This is higher than those aged over 55 (65% have completed some activity).

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