February 2024 New Coronavirus Lifestyle Impact Study (Leisure Behavior)

In order to understand the impact of the new coronavirus on consumer behavior and awareness, we have been conducting the "New Coronavirus Life Impact Survey" periodically since the first survey (March 12-13, 2020) targeting 2,500 men and women aged 20-69 living in 47 prefectures in Japan. In February 2024, the mutated In February 2024, the survey was conducted from February 22 to 25, when the number of people infected with the JN.1 strain and influenza was increasing, to analyze people's awareness and behavior.

Survey Result Topics

Leisure activity

The total number of respondents who had a large amount of free time in their daily lives was 58%, with those in their 60s having the most leisure time and those in their 40s having the least. Compared to 2022 and 2023, before the transition to category 5 infection, there was no significant change in the amount of free time available for leisure activities today. ＜Figure 1＞

Leisure activities at home in the past week include "TV," "video sharing services," "SNS," "music," and "online shopping. Looking at the results for 2024 by age group, "video sharing services," "social networking services," "music," and "video streaming services" were the most popular among those in their 20s and 30s, while "video sharing services," "social networking services," "music," "games," and "video streaming services" were the most popular, indicating that the younger age group is shifting away from television. ＜Figure 2＞

Desire for leisure time

More than 60% of respondents seek to spend their leisure time "relaxing/relaxing," "recovering from physical/mental fatigue," "relieving stress," "alone/by myself," "enjoying hobbies," and "enjoying meals," a trend that has been increasing since 2021. On the other hand, a loose declining trend was observed for time spent "meeting with friends and acquaintances in person," as restrictions on activities have been removed. ＜Figure 3＞

Supporting activities

Twenty percent of respondents are using their leisure time to engage in "guess activities" for the people, things, and things they like. The proportion of women in their 20s was 45%, followed by men in their 20s and women in their 30s at 29%. ＜Figure 4＞
"Idols," "manga/anime/game characters," and "musicians" were the top "guess" targets. ＜Figure 5＞

Many respondents, especially women, feel that "Guessing" activities "heal themselves," "relieve stress," "want to meet or see their "guesses" in person," "feel happy just by thinking about their "guesses," and "enjoy talking about their "guesses. Especially among women, these feelings are strong. ＜Figure 6＞

Anxiety and stress level about new coronavirus

The fixed-point indexes for "level of anxiety in the past week" and "level of anxiety about the future" were 30% and 40%, respectively. The level of stress in the past week was 48%, and both anxiety and stress levels have remained unchanged since August 2023. ＜Figure 7＞

All survey items

□ Attribute questions (gender/age/place of residence/marital status/children/family living together/children living together/income from household/occupation) 
□ Survey result topics (time series comparison summary/topic summary) 

▼ Chapter 1 Anxiety, change in behavior and stress 
□ Level of anxiety in the last week/level of future anxiety/level of stress 
□ Current feelings, by item □ Current problems 
□ Things done in the past week/things likely to become a habit 

▼ Chapter 2 Mask-wearing awareness/testing for novel coronavirus 
□ Intention to wear a mask outside the house and when going out/reaction to non-mask wearers 
□ Intention to wear a mask by activity scene 
□ PCR/antigen when there are cold symptoms Intention of PCR/antigen test in case of cold symptoms 

▼ Chapter 3 Leisure time behavior after the outbreak of the new coronavirus 
□ Feeling and satisfaction with leisure time 
□ Leisure time that you want to increase in the future 
□ Disincentive to spend leisure time freely 
□ Leisure activities at home in the last 1 week 
□ Leisure activities at home you want to do in the future 
□ Going out within the last 1 month Behavior/intention to go out in the future 
□ Exercise done in the last month 
□ Facilities used/facilities to be used in the last month 
□ How to spend leisure time (degree of desire/satisfaction) 
□ How to spend leisure time (degree of desire x satisfaction) 
□ Change in the way you use and think about leisure time (free answer excerpt) 
□ Status/object of activities you are promoting 
□ Average per month to promote activities Expenditure/frequency of activities 
□ Feelings about doing the activities 

▼ Reference materials (detailed survey results) 
□ Detailed analysis of each item