Less reading, more dancing: the astonishing effects of confinement on the cultural practices of the French

Seniors on social networks, executives who give up reading and young people who devote themselves to sculpture: funny effects than those of confinement on the cultural uses of the French!

A study published on December 13 by the Department of Foresight Studies and Statistics DEPS of the Ministry of Culture reveals what activities the French indulged in at home while schools, cinemas and shops remained closed.

Where the epidemic has widened inequalities of all kinds, the study highlights an astonishing reduction in the gaps between generations and socio-professional classes.

First lesson: those over 60 have developed a strong taste for social networks, online viewing, and ... video games: in 2018, 17% of them played them, compared to 34% in 2020.

" The isolation of the elderly has led them to turn to new means of communication.

In 2018, 12% of people over 60 frequented social networks, against 43% during the confinement period!

», Analyzes sociologist Philippe Lombardo, co-author of the study.

"

Viewing web videos, on social networks in particular, leads to an online sociability that single people seek".

As for the rise of video games, it would be linked to a change of image in the media:

"WHO has even joined the media campaign Play Apart Together to extol the benefits of video games in terms of social distancing. »

, He notes.

Read also:

The confinement finally had a positive effect on the health habits of the French

The boom in online challenges

Conversely, the use of amateur cultural activities, such as painting, dancing, singing and photography has jumped among the youngest, returning to rates similar to… those of ten years ago.

"

The time dedicated to resting and looking after alone has led young people to turn to new activities, such as sculpture for example,"

explains the author of the study Anne Jonchery.

The achievement of at least one artistic practice as an amateur concerned 71% of 15-24 year olds during confinement, against 57% in 2018.

In the spring, it was not uncommon to hear through the window young people improvising a collective choir while screaming at the somewhat outdated sound of the Cascada track

Every Times we touch

.

In fact, the practice of song and dance has been particularly popular with young people in times of epidemic: dancing has thus increased by 17 points among 15-24 year olds.

“The media coverage may have created enthusiasm.

I am thinking, for example, of

the challenges of choreography

on social networks, the fashion for concerts at the window…

”, explains Anne Jonchery.

Obsession with social networks which have also benefited photography, up 10 points for this age group:

“For example, there was the

Getty Museum Challenge

, which called for recreating works of art at home but also aesthetic staging of everyday life. "

Telework, the enemy of reading

Less reading among managers and more consumption of cultural goods among workers: the pandemic seems to have reduced over the period studied the differences in cultural practices linked to the socio-professional level.

People with little education consulted online cultural resources (museum, concert, science) more with 10 points more than in 2018, where executives lost 15 points.

Partial unemployment would have freed up time for workers who could not telework:

"This catching up of the working classes is explained by the interruption of professional activity and support for children

", explains Philippe Lombardo.

“To keep the children busy, many cultural activities were done in groups, some of which were educational.

As such, we can welcome the impetus given by the schools which have made cultural resources, such as virtual museum visits for example, available to the public who would not necessarily have resorted to them spontaneously. "

Read also: The fatigue of private office workers: teleworking is (a bit) hell

Meanwhile, the practice of reading has declined significantly, despite outrage over the closing of bookstores.

“This can be attributed to the place of teleworking in the domestic environment.

It is more difficult to make time for yourself or to read when you spend your day in the office in front of the computer.

However, executives are traditionally the most concerned by reading, ”

notes Anne Jonchery.

From there to evoke a democratization of cultural practices? It remains to be seen whether the trend is doomed to perpetuate itself.

"Nothing indicates that these differences will be registered in time"

, nuance Philipe Lombardo.

“They are significantly dedicated to a particular context over a given period: home schooling, the closing of museums… Afterwards, those who have discovered new activities will perhaps not give up on them”.

Like the seniors now addicted to video games?