Corona pandemic
Households are becoming better and better digitized
Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, Germans have been spending significantly more time with video chats, among other things
© Dean Drobot / Shutterstock.com
Because of the pandemic, people sometimes spend significantly more time in their homes. Technology creates entertainment and distraction.
Numerous people spent more time in their own four walls in 2020 and early 2021 than ever before. Digital technologies in particular were therefore of great help to the Germans in the corona pandemic. As a survey on behalf of the industry association Bitkom shows, people have not only dealt more intensively with technology, but also spent more money on it.
"Digital technologies such as video conferencing with family and friends, entertainment such as streaming or games and the option of shopping online are the gateway to the world for many during the Corona crisis," explains Bitkom President Achim Berg in a press release. Digital technologies "ensured that our lives could go on despite all the restrictions".
Help in all situations
According to the results of the study, novel technology has helped 83 percent of citizens in at least one area of their lives. For example, 60 percent stated that the relevant technologies "helped a lot" or "somewhat helped" at work. When it comes to communicating with family and friends, the figure is 56 percent, when it comes to shopping 55 percent, and when it comes to health or sports and fitness it is still 52 and 51 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, 78 percent stated that they had used digital technologies more frequently during the crisis than before. The service life has also increased. If the respondents stated that they spent around eight hours a day in front of their smartphones, PCs and televisions before the pandemic, this figure even rose to 10.4 hours per day.
Between streaming and shopping
Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney + are enjoying strong growth. Before Corona, it was 3.9 hours that users streamed series and films weekly; since the beginning of the pandemic, it has been 7.1 hours. Eight percent even said they devote more than 20 hours a week to "Bridgerton", "The Mandalorian", "Peaky Blinders" and other hit series. The proportion of people who do not use video streaming at all has since fallen from 29 to 21 percent.
Online shopping has also increased massively. On average, around 16 percent of all goods were bought online before the pandemic – food excluded. Meanwhile, at 37 percent, there are more than twice as many. Eleven percent even said they would buy more than 80 percent of their products online during the pandemic.
And video chats and conferences in the private sector have also increased significantly, as it is currently often difficult or impossible to meet with family or friends. Before the crisis, usage was 0.6 hours a week. It is now 3.3 hours. 65 percent also stated that they did not use video telephony at all before Corona. Here it is now 38 percent.
In addition, people spend significantly more money on technology. Only two percent said they had spent less money on digital technologies in 2020, while 21 percent estimate that it was about the same. However, according to their own statements, 28 percent have spent a little more money and 37 percent significantly more. The respondents estimate that they invested an average of EUR 482 more in the past year – including for new hardware purchases, faster internet, streaming or paid fitness apps.