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Prof. Paul Sudnik

Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany

As the Editor-in-Chief of IJSSH, I invite you to contribute your scholarly work to our esteemed publication. The journal publishes papers which focus on the advanced researches in the field of all aspects of social science and humanity. I'll endeavour to make this journal grow better and hopefully it will become a recognized journal among researchers and scholars in related fields.

Home > Archive > 2025 > Volume 15, Number 3, 2025
IJSSH 2025 Vol.15(3): 95-101
doi: 10.18178/ijssh.2025.15.3.1248

Adapting to the New Normal: Behavioural Changes and Personal Attributes in the Wake of COVID-19

Hiroko Kanoh
Institute of Arts and Sciences, National University Corporation Yamagata University, Yamagata-shi, Yamagata-ken, Japan
Email: kanoh@cc.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Manuscript received May 7, 2024; accepted August 28, 2024; published May 22, 2025.

Abstract—In this study, we explored how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced behavioural changes between 2020 and 2022 and those changes’ association with the personal attributes of age, marital status, and gender. The key findings can be summarized as follows: The adoption of telework slightly increased, while the use of public transportation slightly decreased, suggesting a shift towards remote work. Engagement in activities such as visiting restaurants and indoor and outdoor entertainment showed a slight increase, suggesting a gradual return to pre-pandemic behavioural patterns as the initial fear subsided, which may also have influenced the decrease in the practice of gargling. Both in-store and online shopping experienced a minor decline, contrary to expectations that one might increase as a result of the other’s decrease. On the other hand, no significant overall change in behaviour was observed between 2020 and 2022, suggesting that the immediate adjustments to the pandemic might have stabilized over time. From the above results, the behaviours that were subject to change due to the pandemic can be categorized into two types: those that reverted to pre-pandemic norms over time, such as the tendency to socialise, and those that became entrenched changes, such as the widespread adoption of telework. After a world-shaking pandemic, the gradual adaptation to these changes and their entrenchment could be said to reflect the height of human intelligence. By adjusting and adapting to the environment post-pandemic, humanity demonstrated its capacity to evolve and accommodate new realities, highlighting the resilience and adaptability inherent in our species.

Keywords—behavioural changes, COVID-19 pandemic, age, gender, marital status

Cite: Hiroko Kanoh, "Adapting to the New Normal: Behavioural Changes and Personal Attributes in the Wake of COVID-19," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 95-101, 2025.

Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
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