Here’s What We’re Doing With Our Spare Time During A Post-Pandemic World

The global health crisis completely changed how we spend our time as we engaged in various hobbies to cope with the stress of isolation and social distancing. According to a 2021 survey, 63 percent of Canadians engaged in a new hobby during the pandemic. Three in 10 people played a lot of games, while almost 30 percent of respondents have taken up cooking or baking. Other hobbies such as arts and crafts were also quite popular, along with outdoor activities like hiking and cycling.

Most people thought that these hobbies will become a thing of the past once the pandemic is over. But surprisingly, majority of us are still into our pastimes as they help to keep boredom at bay. What’s more, they continue to bring happiness and healing into our lives as we try to make sense of everything that has happened during the last three years. Here’s what we’re doing with our spare time during a post-pandemic world.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of us are still playing board games, video games, or games at a Canada online casino during our spare time. Games not only help people to de-stress, but they also sharpen the mind and improve focus. Some games even enable you to win monetary rewards, which is a nice bonus. According to a survey, 23 million Canadians play video games. Adults prefer to play puzzle and word games, while kids and teens would rather play action and adventure games.

With newly-released 2023 game titles such as Diablo IV, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Resident Evil 4, and Dead Space, it’s expected that people will continue to be on their gaming consoles this year and in the coming months. However, like most things, too much of a good thing can be harmful, so take a break after around 90 minutes of gaming to revive your mind and decrease physical aches and pains.

Reading is another activity that was popular among Canadians during the height of the pandemic. According to reports, people continued to read for fun even after the lockdowns ended and we were allowed to go outside once more. In a January 2023 poll, it was found that 49 percent of Canadians read or listen to books weekly, while 31 percent said that they read daily. What’s more, over 60 percent of readers favour print books, while 44% like digital versions more.

Social media has helped to increase the popularity of reading for leisure as readers would seek recommendations on platforms like BookTok or Bookstagram. Readers are also participating in reading challenges and online book clubs, and these have made reading even more fun.

Listening to music on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music kept us from feeling bored during the pandemic. And now, people are still bopping along to tunes as discovering new music has become a favourite hobby this year. According to recent statistics, there are almost 12 million unique Canadian visitors per month on Spotify. While some make it a point to listen to music from their favourite singers, others use music streaming platforms to discover new music from emerging bands and artists. Being on TikTok has also helped music fans to find new tunes as viral clips are often accompanied by a few bars of trending songs.

The pandemic may have changed people and the world as we know it. But we’ve found ways to cope with it, and some of our pastimes managed to keep us occupied to this day. Whether it’s dealing with a heartbreak, a life-changing event, or a global health crisis, hobbies can help to make our days a little better and brighter.