Pulse Survey November 2021 - Our Lives Online: Snapshot of Results

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) more of our work, education and social lives has moved online. This is why the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has produced a snapshot of Our Lives Online in Ireland, in November 2021.  This report includes insights into shopping, social media, social clubs, fitness and other online activities. For many of those in employment, remote work has become mainstream and like so many other aspects of life, education went online too over the past year or so. We include information on changes to these aspects of life brought on by a need to stay apart.

‘Our Lives Online’ is a Frontier Publication which is based on the information collected from the second online Pulse Survey which is part of the CSO ‘Take Part’ campaign. Pulse surveys, which take the ‘pulse’ of the nation about an issue at a point in time, are usually short and frequent. They allow the public an opportunity to get involved in CSO surveys so that your story can become part of the story, the story of Ireland. This is the first publication planned from this survey. These types of survey ensures the CSO can provide relevant, timely and insightful data for the public.

This online survey was carried out between Tuesday 02 November and Tuesday 16 November 2021 and was open to anyone aged 18 and over living in the Republic of Ireland. The online electronic questionnaire was available on our website CSO.ie,  and on all CSO social media platforms.  There were 10,797 responses.

The results in this report reflect only the responses of those who completed the CSO Pulse Survey questionnaire.  While results are calibrated to Irish population totals, the findings cannot be generalised to the entire Irish population, as the people who answered the questionnaire were not chosen at random from the population. As the survey was online it will not represent views of those with no online activity. Even with this caveat however, we believe that this report provides a valuable insight into our lives online in Ireland. See the Background Notes for further details on the survey methodology.

Our Lives Online

• Two-thirds (67%) of respondents feel that, outside of work or education, they are doing more online now than a year ago
• Over the same timeframe, just over six in ten (62%) feel they are spending more money online
• Less than 5% of people always purchase groceries online
• When asked about purchasing products online (other than groceries) six in ten (60%) said they mainly look for retailers that are either based locally to them, or elsewhere in Ireland regardless of price
• When shopping online, 95% of respondents said they use their Eircode
• Of those who use social media, 83% interact with family or friends in this way. Of them, almost two in every three (65%) reported increased interaction with family or friends through this medium over the past year
• Just over one in ten (11%) people said they take part in online social clubs
• A similar amount (12%) use dating apps with almost two out of every three (65%) of them saying their usage of these apps has increased over the last 12 months
• Some 14% said they take part in online fitness, with 82% of them saying they did more over the past year
• When it comes to personal banking methods, just over six in ten (61%) of respondents said they only use online banking

Remote Work

• Of those who could work remotely, 88% said they would like to work that way all (28%) or some (60%) of the time when all pandemic restrictions are lifted
• For those who currently work remotely, 98% of them do so from home
• More than four in ten (45%) of those in employment would consider a house move if they could work remotely, some having moved already
• On days that people work remotely compared to days they are in the office, 74% said they made less trips by car, with 47% saying their trips on foot had increased
• Of those who said they would consider using a remote-work hub, 44% said they would travel up to 15 minutes to get to one, with an additional 45% saying they would travel up to double that time
• Almost three-quarters (74%) of remote workers feel they have more time on their hands, because of their ability to work remotely, to do things they never got the chance to do before the pandemic. They are mainly doing more domestic tasks, exercising, and spending more time with family and friends
• For those not in employment nearly six in ten (58%) said they would consider taking a job if their work could work be done remotely
• Just under half (46%) of workers felt that working remotely would not affect their opportunities for promotion, 4% said it would affect these opportunities in a positive way, 22% in a negative way with the remainder (28%) saying they did not know.

Remote Education

• For respondents participating in education when the pandemic began, 93% said they continued some or all of their course online when public health restrictions were introduced. Of these, 42% said their online education experience was either Good or Excellent
• Almost seven in ten (68%) of those that planned to return to or continue in education in future said the availability of remote or blended learning would make them more likely to choose a course that had these offerings
• Of those with no plans to return to, or continue in education in the future, over one in three (35%) said they would consider a change of mind if remote or blended learning was available
• Just under three in ten (29%) parents with a child in primary school rated their online education experience during the pandemic as Good or Excellent. In post-primary (secondary school) it was 31%, and in third level this figure rose to 35%

Sexual Orientation

• More than eight in ten (82%) said their sexual orientation was heterosexual or straight. Some 7% said they were gay or lesbian, 5% were bisexual, 1% were of an other sexual orientation. The remaining 5% did not answer the question or preferred not to say

Online Activity

Looking at online activities, 14% of respondents said they take part in online fitness, with 82% of them saying they attended a greater number of classes over the past year.  Almost three in every four (73%) who partake in online fitness are female.  See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.1.

Just over one in ten people (11%) are part of online social clubs, and 54% of them are women. Of all those who take part in these clubs, almost three-quarters (74%) reported increased activity over the past year. See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.1.

A similar amount of people (12%) use dating apps with almost two out of every three (65%) of them saying their usage of these apps has increased over the last 12 months. Some 60% of dating apps users are male. See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.1.

Of respondents who use social media, 83% interact with family or friends in this way. Of them, almost two in every three (65%) reported increased interaction with family or friends through this medium over the past year. 

More than six in ten (61%) respondents said they use online banking only for their personal banking. The highest proportion of these were in the 35-44 year age group, where three in four people (75%) used this method of banking only. See Table 1.2.

Almost half (49%) of all respondents say they never shop for groceries online, whilst less than 5% said they shop for groceries that way all of the time. See Table 1.2.

Six in every ten (60%) people who shop for products, other than groceries, mainly look to use retailers that are based locally to them or situated elsewhere in Ireland. Those aged 70 years and older in this group had the highest proportion (68%) of people who shop this way. The remaining 40% mainly look to purchase the cheapest available product regardless of its location. See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.2.

Remote Work

Respondents who could work from home were asked the type of remote work pattern they would avail of, if any, when all public health restrictions are removed. 28% said they would like to work remotely all of the time while six in ten (60%) indicated their preference to work remotely some of the time. The remainder (12%) said they would not like to work remotely at all. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.3.

People in employment were asked whether they would consider a house move if they could work remotely. More than four in ten (45%) of them would consider it or have done so already. Of those who would consider a house move 13% would move location but stay within the county they currently reside, 18% would consider a move to a different county, with 7% saying they would consider leaving the country if they could work remotely from abroad. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.4.

Remote workers were asked how their transport trips differ on days when they work remotely compared to days they are in their normal work location, e.g. an office or work headquarters etc. Some 74% of people said they took less trips by car with 47% indicating that they took more trips on foot. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.5.

The survey asked people who are remote working if they feel they have more time, because they remote work, to do things they never got the chance to do before the pandemic. Almost three-quarters (74%) said they did. These respondents were then asked what they did with this time. The top three activities pursued were undertaking domestic tasks, exercising, and spending more time with family and friends. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.6.

When asked if they feel that working remotely may affect their opportunities for promotion, 46% of workers felt that working remotely would not affect their opportunities for promotion. Some 28% said they do not know if it would affect their future promotion opportunities, 4% said it would affect these opportunities in a positive way, with the remainder (22%) saying it would affect them in a negative way. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.7.

Remote Education

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, along with most other aspects of life, education began to move online. Across all learning levels around the State, schools and colleges moved away from the classroom. For 93% of respondents who were in education at the time, they continued their courses online. The survey asked them to rate their online education experience. See Table 1.4 and Figure 1.8.

Nearly four in ten respondents (39%) said they intend to return to education in the future. Of them almost seven in ten (68%) said they would be more likely to choose a course that consisted of remote or blended learning.

Of those who did not intend to return to education in the future, 35% said they would reconsider it if remote or blended learning was available.

Overall, just over three in ten (31%) parents rated their child's online education experience during the pandemic as Good or Excellent. In primary school it was 29% of parents who rated their child's online education experience that way, in post-primary (secondary school) it was 31%, and in third level this figure rose to 35%. See Table 1.4 and Figure 1.9.

Sexual Orientation

This survey included, for the first time, a question asking people to describe their sexual orientation. Over eight in ten (82%) said they were heterosexual or straight, 7% were gay or lesbian, 5% were bisexual, with 1% saying that they were of an other sexual orientation. The remainder (5%) preffered not to say or did not answer this question. See Table 1.5.