Younger Britons are more likely to say the pandemic had a negative impact on them
This Sunday marks the five year anniversary since the first COVID-19 lockdown was imposed. Looking back at the pandemic, a new YouGov survey finds that almost half of Britons (46%) say the pandemic had a negative effect on them, while 38% don’t think it had much impact on them one way or the other, while 13% consider it to actually have had a positive impact.
The youngest age group are more likely to feel the pandemic affected them negatively, at 56% of current 18-24 year olds, while this figure among older age groups remains at about the national rate.
When asked about more specific impacts of Covid, mental health challenges are most common, with 42% of Britons saying the pandemic negatively affected their mental health at the time. A quarter also consider it to have had a negative impact on their physical health at the time (28%), with a similar number saying the same of their household finances during the pandemic period.
One in eight (13%) also say the pandemic had a negative effect on their relationship at the time (if we take into account the fact that not everyone would have been in a relationship, this figure among those who actually in a relationship in the first place were rises to 18%).
Young Britons are again the most likely to feel that the pandemic affected their lives negatively, particularly in the realm of mental health, with the majority of 18-24 year olds (57%) saying so, as do 53% of 25-49 year olds. By contrast, only 25% of the over 65s say the same.
In terms of several more specific impacts, two thirds of Britons say they caught Covid during the pandemic (65%), with one in seven (14%) say that they lost a friend or loved one to the disease.
One in six (18%) found themselves furloughed from work during the pandemic period, and an unfortunate 8% lost a job entirely.
What do you think the impact of COVID has been on you, on wider society, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
