How have the hobbies of Filipinos changed due to isolation?

COVID-19 has forced most of Filipinos to stay at home. The shutdown of points of interest, workplaces, schools, and universities has made a colossal difference in our daily lives.

Picodi.com Analysis Team investigated Google search queries and created a ranking of the activities which gained the biggest popularity in the times of pandemic.

Trapped at home

We took a closer look at the most popular hobbies and activities, such as cinema, books, games, and many others. We checked the frequency of search queries connected to these activities in March 2020 and compared them with March of the previous year.

After evaluating statistics, it turned out that all activities that require leaving home have become less popular: cinema dropped by 87 per cent, concerts — 40 per cent, theatre — 28 per cent. Filipinos also lost interest in foreign languages (decrease of 22 per cent). Probably it’s no longer such a sought-after ability in the world of closed borders.

The biggest increase of interest was noted in card games (100 per cent), PC games (92 per cent), and online courses, such as Udemy (80 per cent).. There is a possibility that the uncertain situation in the labour market has made Internet users seek opportunities to gain additional qualifications.

Workout placed fourth with a 72 per cent increase, which means that people probably look for alternatives to gyms and fitness clubs. Various creative activities and crafts, like crocheting (37 per cent) or drawing (28 per cent) have also gained popularity.

Among activities which increased by a relatively slow margin are yoga and puzzles (6 per cent both).

Methodology

The research is based on the changes in the popularity of various keywords in March 2020 compared with March of the previous year, according to Google archival data (through Google Trends).