The trade-off behaviours between virtual and physical activities during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic period

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The first wave of COVID-19 pandemic period has drastically changed people’s lives all over the world. To cope with the disruption, digital solutions have become more popular. However, the ability to adopt digitalised alternatives is different across socio-economic and socio-demographic groups. Objective This study investigates how individuals have changed their activity-travel patterns and internet usage during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic period, and which of these changes may be kept. Methods An empirical data collection was deployed through online forms. 781 responses from different countries (Italy, Sweden, India and others) have been collected, and a series of multivariate analyses was carried out. Two linear regression models are presented, related to the change of travel activities and internet usage, before and during the pandemic period. Furthermore, a binary regression model is used to examine the likelihood of the respondents to adopt and keep their behaviours beyond the pandemic period. Results The results show that the possibility to change the behaviour matter. External restrictions and personal characteristics are the driving factors of the reduction in ones' daily trips. However, the estimation results do not show a strong correlation between the countries' restriction policy and the respondents' likelihood to adopt the new and online-based behaviours for any of the activities after the restriction period. Conclusion The acceptance and long-term adoption of the online alternatives for activities are correlated with the respondents' personality and socio-demographic group, highlighting the importance of promoting alternatives as a part of longer-term behavioural and lifestyle changes.