ONLINE CULTURAL LEISURE: PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOR DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The possibility of realizing an individual’s cultural needs is one of the key things when it comes to the quality of life. Due to introducing the lockdown of cultural and leisure public spaces caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, people were forced to look for alternative ways to meet the formed / emerging cultural needs. The article analyzes the Russians’ online requests in the field of culture and leisure in 2020. The most popular cultural and leisure practices of online users, which acted as keywords in the Google search service, are highlighted and analyzed. The search requests of the mass culture form have been studied by the main keywords: “kinopoisk”, “okko”, “ivi”, “netflix”, “megogo” (online cinemas), “cinema online”, “video online”, “movies online”, “TV series online” (watching videos without subscriptions); legitimate form of culture: “concerts online”, “exhibitions online”, “museums online”, “excursions online”, “performances online”. The people’s ability to successfully use the possibilities of the Internet for receiving cultural and leisure services on-line in a situation of self-isolation is noted. It has been concluded that there were fluctuations in keyword requests to peak values ​​during non-working days introduced in Russia in the spring of 2020 due to the threat of the COVID-19 spread. The differences between the online users’ regions of residence and the types of cultural and leisure practices they prefer, as well as the forms of their satisfaction are revealed. The obtained data and results of the study can be used by the state and regional authorities in developing recommendations in the framework of implementing socially significant programs for working with the population in the anti-crisis management mode.

Keywords

leisure, Internet resources, cultural needs, lockdown, search queries, self-isolation, digitalization, COVID-19

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About the Author

Oksana S. Lastochkina – Graduate Student; Junior Researcher, Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Science, Vologda, Russia. E-mail: lasto4kina543@yandex.ru. SPIN РИНЦ 3072-5194. ORCID 0000-0001-8344-7710

For citation

Lastochkina O.S. Online Cultural Leisure: People’s Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic // BENEFICIUM. 2021. Vol. 3(40). Pp. 83-89. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.34680/BENEFICIUM.2021.3(40).83-89