Students Spend More Time Sleeping and Watching YouTube During “Corona Break”

A number of students must have felt happy at first when schools went on holiday because of the COVID-19 crisis. But soon, as club activities were also canceled and they had to spend most of their time indoors, they found themselves bored and not sure what to do with themselves.

A survey of 8,464 junior high, high school, and university students found that smartphone use has shot up by far the most during the unscheduled school holidays, compared to other media. For many young people, a smartphone has been their inseparable companion during social distancing. Meanwhile, around 10% of those surveyed consumed paper-based media like magazines, manga, and books.

The survey found that “sleep” is the at-home activity that has increased the most among students, with over half sleeping more than before. Among junior high school students, almost 40% are studying more than before, as compared to just 22% among university students.

Those surveyed students who are using their smartphones more than before were asked a follow-up question regarding what sort of content they were accessing. The answers showed that YouTube ranked top among junior high and high school students, while social media sites were the most popular option among university students. Younger students are more likely to use their phones to watch videos and play games, and to use manga-related apps.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: © Pixta.)