Lockdown making us love our families more
WHEN Boris Johnson announced the stringent stay- at- home measures in March, many predicted: ‘The divorce rate is going to go up!’
Not so, according to The Mail on Sunday’s exclusive poll, which paints a more rosy picture of life in lockdown, showing that, on balance, people believe that the extra time spent with their partners has made them less likely to split up. They are also enjoying work more, plan to spend more time with their children in future and are having more sex – but only if they are married.
The results of the Deltapoll survey will be studied closely in Downing Street as officials start to draw up a blueprint for easing the restrictions slowly and safely.
In terms of intimate relations, the lockdown has opened up a divide between the generations.
Overall, 29 per cent of people said that they were having less sex now, compared with 20 per cent who are having more. But among the 18-24 age group, more than half (58 per cent) are enjoying less intimacy, with just 18 per cent enjoying more. That is the generation likely to be still living at home or in shared flats, rather than with long-term partners, and unable to go on dates.
Of all those in live-in relationships, 37 per cent say the experience has led to them wanting to spend more time with their partner, as opposed to the ten per cent who are keen to broaden their horizons again. A total of 26 per cent say their relationship has improved, while 13 per cent say it has worsened. Only nine per cent of people think they are now more likely to split up as a result of lockdown, compared to 27 per cent who think it is less likely.
Respondents have, on the whole, also enjoyed being cooped up with their children, with 45 per cent saying it had left them wanting to spend more time with their offspring in future, and just 13 per cent wanting less time. More than a third of people living with children say their relationship with them has improved, particularly among men, with 47 per cent saying so.
The poll also shows that people are arguing less, exercising more and, unsurprisingly, eating, drinking and sleeping more.
Despite the many positives, officials’ fears about the psychological effects of a sustained period in lockdown will be confirmed by the 30 per cent who say that their mood has deteriorated in isolation compared to the 23 per cent who say it has improved. One reason might be money: 38 per cent say their household income has gone down, while only 11 per cent say it has risen.
Meeting up with family is what people miss the most.
Seeing our families is the thing we miss most of all