When the world went into lockdown in March, it wasn’t clear how long the pandemic would last. Students’ expectations about resuming their social lives in a post-pandemic world have shifted over the past few months.
A new college survey of 2,000 undergraduates finds that students are leaving the house for non-essential trips, with about half (52%) reporting that they’re eating indoors at restaurants. By comparison, 27% said the same in June. More students (63%) feel comfortable getting a haircut at a salon or barber shop, while just 9% expect to wait a year for a haircut.
But while many students have resumed these activities, expectations about resuming large social gatherings have been pushed back. About half (54%) of students believe it will be at least a year before they attend a large party, compared to 37% in June. Similarly, almost half (49%) of students don’t think they will attend a sporting event, concert, or play for another year, compared to 36% over the summer.
Students Expect to Wait to Resume Large Gatherings
When do you expect to do the following activities again?
Students also don’t expect to stop wearing face masks any time soon. A majority (58%) expect to wear a face mask to slow the spread of coronavirus for at least another year. Even in cities where people are not required to wear a face covering in public, 47% of students expect to wear one for a year or more, compared to 60% of students living in cities with mask mandates. There’s a significant gender gap, as well. While two-thirds (67%) of female students expect to wear a face mask for another year, less than half (47%) of male students agree.
6 in 10 Students Expect to Wear a Face Mask for Another Year
When do you expect to stop wearing a face mask?
The gender gap persists when it comes to shaking hands with strangers. Overall, half (50%) of students expect to wait a year before shaking hands when greeting a stranger, while 17% say never again. But female students are twice as likely as male students to say they never expect to again (22% vs. 9%).
And when it comes to school life, students who haven’t yet resumed on-campus classes expect to keep waiting. While almost 4 in 10 (38%) students are already attending classes on campus, almost 3 in 10 (28%) don’t expect to return for another year. And even more students (39%) expect to wait at least a year before attending a career fair or other recruiting event on campus.
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted from October 27 – November 4 among a sample of 2,000 full-time and part-time students attending four-year colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
