An in-depth analysis of the Entertainment Preferences before and after Covid-19 among Engineering Students of West Bengal

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on populations throughout the world. As countries implemented lockdowns or restrictions on movement of people, and most services and activities were shifted to online mode, it had a cascading effect on social lives too. As the usual entertainment and recreational choices were no longer viable, people shifted their attention towards other modes of entertainment, viz., digital entertainment, social media etc. As young adults, college students have a rich and varied social life. The present study investigates the impact of the pandemic on the entertainment and recreational trends among the engineering students of West Bengal. The study utilizes descriptive and inferential statistical tools using SPSS version 20 to investigate how social activities among the students were affected by the pandemic. The study reveals that, while cultural/sports activities and social outings were the two most preferred offline entertainment choices pre and post-pandemic, a significant percentage of students shifted to other forms of offline entertainment post-pandemic [(Saha)]. On the other hand, in case of online entertainment choices, the number of students preferring online streaming services increased post-pandemic (48.3% from 40%). It has also been found that students spent more time on online entertainment mediums post-pandemic than before (4 hours from 3.2 hours per day on average). A decrease in average monthly expenditure can be observed for offline entertainment activities while a significant increase is noted for online entertainment consumption (Saha). Interestingly, while gender has been found to have an impact on the entertainment preferences in all cases, the area of residence (rural/urban) has an impact only on online entertainment preferences post-pandemic.