Now halfway through November, as we begin to creep towards the festive season, it has become increasingly apparent that this will be a Christmas like no other. In the midst of Lockdown 2.0 and the government hoping to be able to provide better news, we are already thinking forward to how young people will be able to make the most of their Christmas breaks.
As Halloween showed us a few weeks ago, young people will not be able to carry out their usual traditions, for example Trick or Treating was made impossible with the current Covid restrictions. Whilst many attempted to adapt in order to spend time with their friends and families, it was only a small sample of the new holiday traditions that may be apparent at Christmas. Social media, and Tik Tok in particular was excellent at keeping spirits high in Halloween, allowing people to share costumes and haunted houses – but will that trend be able to be replicated at Christmas?
Christmas is a time that brings together all extensions of a family. At Discovery, we conducted a thought piece to understand what brings together different generations, and themes that they bond over. It became clear that Christmas was a time where values and likes/dislikes tended to align across generations – time was spent together, people were viewing the same media content, and in general there were more discussions about current views, rather than the usual time spent apart on their own devices.
For those at university, whilst the government has made it clear they are aiming to introduce a scheme to “evacuate” students home for Christmas, there is still uncertainty around what that means. If students are indeed required to self-isolate, their Christmas will be significantly more unorthodox than expected, and there are concerns over the impact on mental health, in a generation where there is already an incredibly high incidence.
From our research, Gen Z already felt as though they were a generation apart from the others in terms of views and attitudes to the world around them. Having a Christmas where young people cannot see their extended family could mean they miss out on this time to connect, and risk views and opinions polarising even further than before…
If you’re interested in exploring the behaviours, needs and desires of younger people further, drop Afra and Helen a line at afra@discoveryres.co.uk / helen@discoveryres.co.uk
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