New Delhi: A new global survey by Ipsos shows a new downside of the pandemic, with at least 4 in 10 urban Indians (45%) feeling lonelier due to the pandemic and 4 in 10 urban Indians (43%) saying they felt lonely and friendless at most times.
But their spirits did not flag – a greater number of urban Indians (42%) said their spirits were up, despite the gloom. Though 1 in 4 urban Indians (28%) were feeling depressed and sad. Global citizens were more deeply impacted, with 4 in 10 being in a gloomy state of mind and 2 in 10 (22%) feeling positive.
“Lockdowns and restrictions put the brakes on socializing and people to people close interactions, which made people experience a new kind of loneliness, turning them into forced reclusiveness, which many had to deal with in different ways. Digital connectivity and new hobbies made many re-access happiness and people found their own ways of staying motivated. Like some were glued to social media and OTT for entertainment. While some took solace in close family bonding, with everyone homebound,” says Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India.
Local community support biggest upside
The upside being, at least 1 in 2 urban Indians (55%) believing their local community became more supportive during the pandemic – China (55%) and Saudi Arabia (51%) too held similar views. Only 1 in 3 global citizens (32%) felt their local community was more helpful now, after the pandemic struck. Countries which experienced least support of local communities during the pandemic, were Japan (10%) and Russia (13%). In fact, 43% of the Japanese polled and 38% of the Russians polled found the local community support lacking.
“Whether gated communities or neighbourhoods, there was a feeling of oneness and bonhomie towards one another, during the pandemic,” added Adarkar.
These are the results of a 28-market survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. Ipsos interviewed a total of 23,004 adults aged 18-74 in Singapore, 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa and Turkey, 21-74 in Singapore and 16-74 in 22 other markets between 23 December 2020 and 8 January 2021.
The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Chile, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.
The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the U.S. can be taken as representative of their general adult population under the age of 75.
The samples in Brazil, Chile, mainland China, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent
