The aim of this study is to examine where and with whom adolescents spent time during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019.
Methods
Time diary data from the May 2019 to December 2020 waves of the American Time Use Survey were used to examine trends in where and with whom a sample of individuals aged 15–18 years (N = 437) spent their time.
Results
Only 13% of adolescents spent any time at school on a given day during the pandemic (May-December 2020), compared to 36% in the same period in 2019. Average time with friends decreased by 28%. Over the 7.5-month period, this amounts to an average of 204 fewer hours/34 fewer days in school and 86 fewer hours with friends. Time spent sleeping or sleepless did not change.
Discussion
Time at school and with friends decreased substantially during the first months of the pandemic.
Keywords
Time use
COVID-19 pandemic
School closure
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Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.