Sources of increases in time alone during the COVID pandemic: evidence from the American Time Use Survey

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic was associated with a substantial increase in time spent alone. This paper uses US time-diary data to compare time spent alone in 2018-2019 with May 2020-May 2021, examining the extent to which changes in activities were associated with increases in time alone and to what extent time alone increased within activities. It also examines the association of time spent alone with pandemic severity and government policies. Increases in work at home were a substantial contributor to the increase in time spent alone, although increases in time alone at the workplace also played a role. Reallocation of leisure toward fewer social activities was another contributor. Higher state COVID rates increased time alone for single-person households, while government policies did little. There is some evidence that increases in time alone were associated with increases in activities that are substitutes for social activity, but such increases were a small proportion of the increase in time spent alone.

Automated summary

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic resulted in a significant increase in time spent alone. Using US time-diary data, this study compared the amount of time alone in 2018-2019 with May 2020-May 2021, and examined how changes in activities were related to the increase in time alone. The study also analyzed the relationship between time alone and pandemic severity as well as government policies. It was found that working from home and reduced social activities were major contributors to the increase in time spent alone, while government policies had minimal impact. There was some evidence suggesting that the increase in time alone was associated with activities that served as substitutes for social interactions.