A BVA Doxa research for Virtuo shed light on the relationship between Milan citizens and their car: the shift towards sustainable mobility has to deal ...
“Domestic life” in time of Coronavirus: for 73% of citizens it is not a waste of time, but an opportunity to stay with the family and rediscover hobbies: among all, cooking.
A few results coming from surveys carried out between the middle and the end of March, among the Doxa Roamler Community, show how the Covid-19 emergency changed consumer behaviors and time-management habits in a short time.
The recent emergency of the spread of Covid-19 overturned the habits of the entire world and affected Italians’ lifestyle too: life drastically changed when the regulation that prohibits going out when it’s not necessary or urgent was enforced.
However, the survey carried out on a sample of 600 participants from Doxa Roamler Community (Doxa’s crowdsourcing panel) revealed a surprising figure: 73% of the interviewees said they do not consider the time spent at home as a waste of time, but rather to live it as an opportunity to be with their family, while sharing hobbies that are too often set aside because of the fast pace of our everyday life.
The result is even more interesting if we consider that respondents are rather young: 83% is represented by people aged between 26 and 50, who are usually the ones with a most active lifestyle and who probably enjoy having some free time to dedicate to their neglected hobbies. Among these, cooking ranks first as their preferred hobby.
Indeed, the survey highlights that the time spent in the kitchen has increased (in 46% of cases) or even increased a lot (17%) among respondents. Furthermore, only 46% is cooking the usual recipes: free time has given a green light to imagination and experiments, new dishes were discovered (18%), some others were perfected (15%), and 21% of respondents said they did both.
However, cooking is not only a way to improve one’s own skills, it is especially considered as a good way to spend these days at home (29%), as well as a way to take care of the family by enjoying favorite dishes together (18%). In short, cooking proves to be an excellent way to take care of everyone’s mental and physical well-being: 12% say cooking is a creative activity that helps to forget about worrying topics such as the current emergency, and 16% say it helps to increase one’s own immune defenses, thanks to the use of healthy ingredients.
Many choose to prepare dishes that usually are purchased as ready-made, especially baked products: 74% prepare pizzas and focaccias, 65% cakes, 50% bread, 33% cookies. Many also mention some typical dishes from our tradition capable, particularly appreciated, such as fresh pasta (28%) and desserts (22%).
The ability to succeed on their own, especially when it comes to preparing the most widely-loved foods, is known to protect from possible anxieties and from the fear of not being able to find what you are looking for while doing groceries: even shopping, in the time of the Coronavirus, suffered inevitable changes.
In Coronavirus time, it is sometimes difficult to find the right products which might be out of stock: 72% experienced this situation and 27% of them admit it was an unpleasant situation.
Cooking at home and avoid doing groceries often helps to protect from possible infections: 31% declares to be less inclined -in these weeks- to go to pharmacies, considering them potential more infected areas and preferring therefore different purchase methods.
Of course, this is just one of the many ways in which the emergency has changed everyone’s lives, and some restrictions are tougher than others: on one hand, only 11% complains about having to keep their children at home, and only 8% complains about the precautions needed to use public transport, but many regret an afternoon of shopping (28%) or an evening spent at the cinema (26%), or the freedom to train and do some physical activity (33%) or to enjoy a weekend away from home in absolute relax (36%).
The toughest limitation right now is the impossibility of meeting friends (52%) or family members (53%): in times of crisis, this represents a tangible sign of what the most important values and affections are.
