Pleasant Activities among Young Adults and Their Lack during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The pandemic COVID-19 burst in the Slovak Republic in March of the 2020 year. Subsequently, the schools were closed on the 10th of March and the everyday life in the country was for a long uncertain time questionable. The curfew slowed down the outdoor activities and has brought sudden changes also in the lives of young active people. This can be a time of uncertainty, and the stress. To do some pleasant activities can act as a stress reliever, but in the pandemic time not all pleasant activities can be realized. We were interested in lack of doing pleasant activities during the pandemic COVID-19 time. We analyzed 195 different activities in life of young mostly sporting people, whether a given activity is popular and pleasant for individuals, the occurrence and frequency of activity implementation before pandemic, during pandemic and feelings the lack of this activity during pandemic. We found out the most pleasant activity for men – non-organized, spontaneous sporting activity and for women – laughing. We recorded statistically significant decline t(14.856) = 48, p < .001 in frequency of doing pleasant activities in comparison before and during COVID-19. The most missing activity was inviting friends’ visits.