Coronavirus: Keeping ourselves entertained, educated and energised

In the latest of the Quickfire Digital series investigating recent Google Trends, we look at how we are keeping our minds and body active.

We saw in our last article, which included details of our new-found desire to grow our own fruit and veg, that we are planning for the short-term future and we can see evidence relating to other hobbies we are wanting to try out as well as how we are using our extra free time at home.

Let me entertain myself

While socialising and enjoying days out are on the back-burner we are turning to a variety of activities to switch off after a day’s home-working and news digestion.

Not surprisingly, streaming service Netflix is in in more demand than ever, benefiting from its highest search interest in the last five years:

Competitor Amazon Prime Video has seen an increase as well but not hitting the heights of Christmas 2019:

Video game controllers are taking a hammering - in a good way - right now as well with interest in PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and X-Box One also showing an increase although not as high as in the build-up to Christmas:

Historically-popular video game Football Manager has seen a big surge of interest as we stay at home while also missing our football fix:

Then there are those wanting to get away from screens and turn to a good book instead, with current interest at slightly higher levels than Christmas present-buying periods:

While box sets, films, video games and books are keeping us entertained, we are also displaying an interest in other areas as individuals as well as for the family unit.

Some of us are seeking out new experiences and the current situation is freeing up time for a hobby many of us have considered before, namely learning to play the guitar, with searches for ‘guitar lessons’ spiking in the last couple of weeks:

Whether new devotees or existing players wanting to continue their learning, budding musicians are needing to look to the internet to continue their education:

And we are also keen to bring the family together for a spot of friendly competition with the interest in board games rising towards levels seen in the build-up to Christmas over the last five years:

Being keen to keep the grey matter active or looking to teach our children the classics has generated a surge of interest in chess as well:

The quest to keep our minds healthy is also leading us down the path of another area of interest for many people - learning a foreign language:

And the winner for the most popular new language to learn is...Spanish:

Garden against the future

We have seen that we’re intent on keeping ourselves busy indoors but we’re also taking this opportunity to make good use of our gardens - particularly as the sunshine brings some warmth to our lives.

Search terms such as ‘garden games’, ‘trampolines’, ‘kids football goals’ and ‘swingball’ (remember that?) have all seen big leaps over the last couple of weeks:

Home is where the heart pumps

With leisure centres and gyms shut we are also going online to help feed our exercise habit. While the likes of Joe Wicks gain attention never seen before by streaming PE classes for children we are shopping for equipment such as kettlebells, treadmills and rowing machines (hat tip to @Hayley Mace for mentioning this to us):

Summary

We are seeing further evidence that we are all adapting to our new-found way of life and seeking out creative ways to keep ourselves active and entertained, whether that’s learning a new skill, bingeing on box sets or playing with our families in the garden.

As for us at Quickfire, it’s ‘adios’ for now (the Spanish classes are working) but we’ll be back next week with more insights into how we are coping with Covid-19 lockdown.

Next week: Taking this opportunity to spruce up our home