Effects of Covid in entertainment industry
In the spring of 2020, COVID-19 concerns drove American universities to cancel face-to-face classes, which resulted in millions of residential college students leaving campus mid-semester with no plan to return. This decision led to uncertainty, concern, and stress for students, as they were urged to remain sequestered in their primary residences. The University of Washington suspended face-to-face instruction on March 7, and Harvard followed March 10. Students at Michigan State University were informed on March 11 that all face-to-face instruction would be suspended. By March 14, classes were confirmed to be online for the remainder of the semester, and students were strongly encouraged to return to their permanent residences1. Across the United States, universities and states were making similar decisions: University of Florida also suspended face-to-face classes on March 11, and by March 17 had sent all students who were able to return home back to their primary residences2. March Madness, a popular inter-collegiate basketball tournament, was canceled, and commencements across the country postponed. By the end of March, over 14 million college students’ education had been suddenly altered by protective measures to counter COVID-19.
During this same period, video streaming increased sharply, especially during daytime hours. Early indications suggest that the pandemic altered media use patterns. Popular press articles suggested that viewers were either seeking out pandemic-themed media (Sutton, 2020) or turning to reassuring, familiar content. This increase in media consumption, or the consumption of specific types of content, may have been due to the use of media as a coping strategy to deal with stress and anxiety experienced during the initial social distancing period.
Is it the same on your country? What are your thoughts?
