Abstract
This study provides new evidence on changes in a range of online activities due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Online activities replaced physical participation in activities and contributed to changes in urban mobility during the pandemic. Using data from a nationwide survey in Greece, the paper examines changes in the importance and the frequency of engaging in online activities before and during COVID-19. Findings show that both the importance and the frequency of engaging in telework, teleconferencing, online learning (e-learning), telehealth, and online shopping (e-shopping) significantly increased during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19. Substantial increases in importance were reported for telework (31% increase), teleconferencing (34% increase), online learning (34% increase), and telehealth (21% increase). Those who, on a daily basis, teleworked, teleconferenced, and made video calls with family or friends quadrupled during COVID-19, while daily online learners increased seven-fold. Telehealth and online shopping also increased but more modestly. Urban mobility in the post-COVID-19 era is likely to depend on the degree of prevalence and acceptance of these remote online activities, together with a set of complex and interconnected factors related to urban form, the spatial planning and decision-making system, and social awareness about the future of cities.
Highlights
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered a strong, global increase in the adoption of online activities substituting in-person activities (Eurofound, 2020; Nguyen, Gruber, Fuchs, Marler, Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2020; Pierce, Perrin, Tyler, McKee, & Watson, 2021; Wijesooriya, Mishra, Brand, & Rubin, 2020)
Findings from this paper suggest that the importance and the fre quency of engaging in online activities significantly increased due to COVID-19
This study has provided new evidence on changes in a range of online activities due to COVID-19 that replaced physical participation in ac tivities and contributed to changes in mobility
Summary
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered a strong, global increase in the adoption of online activities substituting in-person activities (Eurofound, 2020; Nguyen, Gruber, Fuchs, Marler, Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2020; Pierce, Perrin, Tyler, McKee, & Watson, 2021; Wijesooriya, Mishra, Brand, & Rubin, 2020). People can perform numerous activities online without the need to travel in the physical sense, and this leads to changes in traditional urban mobility and other types of travel (Gossling, 2018; Levinson & Krizek, 2017; Mouratidis, Peters, & van Wee, 2021). This phenomenon has been boosted by COVID-19 and its impacts on society and mobility are ongoing.
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