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Germans increasingly feel stressed about their free time

2022-09-20T16:20:29.236Z


Planning your own life is becoming too much for more and more Germans. And that puts a lot of strain on them, as a new study shows. What she finds less tiring these days: spending time with people she doesn't like.


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Family in planning stress: »People constantly have the feeling that they are missing out«

Photo: Maskot/Getty Images

Finally closing time, finally the weekend?

Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that!

More and more Germans even feel stressed in their free time.

This is the result of the "Freizeit-Monitor 2022" presented in Hamburg, in which this time the special topic was "Stress in leisure time".

"We are not only noticing optimization in working hours, but also increasingly in leisure time," said the scientific director of the foundation, Professor Ulrich Reinhardt.

This is a development to be viewed with concern.

"People always feel like they're missing out," said Reinhardt.

The survey has been collected by the BAT Foundation for Future Issues for 40 years.

The stress level in leisure time has increased most when planning one's own life.

»Caught between the expectations of third parties, seemingly limitless possibilities and their own needs, more and more citizens feel stressed«, said Reinhardt.

Getting out of this hamster wheel is not easy, which is why the risk of burnout increases.

The representative survey by the GfK Institute (Society for Consumer Research) commissioned by the foundation shows that one in three Germans (33 percent among women and 35 percent among men) is stressed when planning their own life.

In 2015 it was 18 percent for women and 22 percent for men.

According to the study, more than half of those surveyed (51 percent) feel stressed because there is “not enough time for themselves and others”.

"Excessive spending" was given as a stress factor by 49 percent, and "constant availability" by 41 percent.

"In the past 10 years alone, smartphone use (not making calls) has more than tripled its popularity," it says.

The proportion of online shoppers has even more than quintupled.

What is particularly stressful for young people?

Young people feel most stressed in their free time.

This is also due to the dominance of the Internet, it said.

As in the previous year, the Internet takes first place in leisure activities (at least once a week).

97 percent of all Germans between the ages of 18 and 74 are regularly active online.

Ten years ago it was only about half as many (2012: 53 percent).

TV remains in second place, followed by PC/laptop/tablet use.

Social media offers also appear in the top 10 for the first time: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter are used regularly by more than two thirds.

Every second German between the ages of 18 and 34 (54 percent) feels stressed by the media consumption of others, compared to only 34 percent of the general population.

"At the same time, the dependency of the younger generation on the media is also evident: They want to use the media less, but simply can't do it," said Reinhardt.

The consequences of their own behavior then also stress them: they complained, for example, about not having enough time to sleep in.

Many young people (41 percent) also feel stressed by media pressure – in terms of appearance and behavior – compared to only 26 percent of the general population.

Free time in the course of time

The Foundation for Future Questions has been examining the leisure behavior of German citizens for four decades.

A 40-year comparison shows that only four activities were among the most common leisure activities in 1982: listening to music and watching TV, as well as pursuing your thoughts and talking about important things.

Activities such as reading a newspaper (1982: 1st place), doing something with friends (2nd place) or reading a book (9th place) are rarely practiced on a regular basis today.

What is less stressful for Germans today than it used to be: "Spending time with people you don't like." While 72 percent mentioned this point in 2015, in 2021 it was only 56 percent.

A situation in which you have to "stand in line" or endure crowds is still stressful for many, but was mentioned less overall (2015: 65 percent, 2021: 60 percent).

According to the study, both could be related to the developments in the pandemic.

After all, it led to fewer contacts, fewer offers and more individual time.

Because media consumption in leisure time dominates today - also a consequence of the Corona period - most leisure activities would take place within one's own four walls and no longer outside.

This could be a solution to media dependency.

However, another result of the "Freizeit-Monitor" is that a majority of Germans go for a walk or spend time in nature at least once a week.

jus/dpa

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2022-09-20

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