We asked YouGov Chat users to tell us how they have adapted to living in a COVID-19 world. You can share your thoughts on the subject here.
“The hardest part for me is doctor appointments. I am a cancer patient no one ever thought about us.”
Chat users were often divided as to how easy it is to adapt to a COVID-19 world. A number of users indicated that they are struggling to accept the loneliness that comes with social distancing.
- “I'm a homebody at the best of times but this forced isolation has gotten to even me.”
- “Not really - the worst for me is the loneliness. We moved from Cleveland to Raleigh in November, bought a house and were settled in and COVID-19 started. We haven't been able to make friends, attend church, eat out or travel. I feel abandoned since I haven't been able to do things I really had looked forward to.”
- “It can get very lonely and I don't live alone. I yearn for physical interactions with people.”
Others, however, appeared to revel in this new level of isolation.
- “My lifestyle hasn't changed much. I'm an introvert, I dislike people, and I HOPE social distancing in public never goes away. It's a dream to make people stay 6 feet away from me.
- “Introverts like myself have probably adjusted much easier to the COVID-19 restrictions than others.”
- “I'm not a fan of crowds or popular vacation spots so in terms of social interactions, I haven't been impacted. However, the ugly attitudes of people who don't want to think about others or be inconvenienced has been very disruptive.”
Some users were upset about the impact this pandemic has had on important social events.
- “Has been extremely disruptive. Only daughter's wedding, Caribbean Cruise, canceled.”
- “I miss friends, sitting down in a restaurant, shopping in a store, and the simplicity of going places and not being concerned every time we go out, wondering if we will get the virus.”
- “I have found it very difficult not being able to go to a hair/nail salon. I am a senior citizen and I am unable to do these things. It has made me very sad and for the first time I feel Old.”
While others tried to enjoy the peace and quiet.
- “My life before COVID-19 was crammed with people, places, things. I find it much more peaceful now.”
- “First real vacation I've gotten in 35 years of work!”
- “I’ve enjoyed the slow down. Because I filled it with things that I really needed to do and wanted to do. I am finding my own entertainment by hiking and seeing friends and still doing social things.”
Chat users often described their need to adapt to new working environments post COVID-19.
- “As a 40-year-old veteran of the entertainment industry, I have had to change industries and apply my skill set to other work.”
- “It has affected my workplace. I am a public school teacher and it has turned my world upside down.”
- “I'm a choral singer. My life has been extraordinarily empty these months with no likelihood of getting fuller any time soon, and looking toward winter is scary without gardening.”
But not everyone was feeling flexible.
- “I have not quarantined, not stopped working, not changed anything that I do. Life is the same, just more bitching.”
- “I work at Dollar General and people may say they are staying at home, but I know. I see them in the store 3 to 4 times a day. Some come into the store just to get away from the kids. If we are to stop the spread the parents have to stay home with the kids.”
- “My lifestyle has changed very little. I continue to travel by air.”
------------------------
Every day, members of YouGov Chat are asked to share their opinion on a topic in the news. We allow anyone to take part in these chats, and do not display or weight results in real-time. Instead, to make the experience informative but still interactive, the chat displays weighted data from YouGov Direct to show them how the rest of the country voted. This enables us to pose the question to all, while retaining data accuracy and validity when communicating results.
YouGov Chat seeks to add to the ‘what?’ (the quantitative poll result) by finding the ‘why?” (qualitative open ends) in a member’s own words. Learn more about YouGov Chat here.
Image: YouGov
