This year has been a tough one for many different people and industries around the world. Many businesses have been forced to close or adapt their usual way of operating, while workers who usually go to an office have been working at home for the majority of the year. With many people spending more time at home this year, a lot of people have been going online for new forms of entertainment, inspiration, and fun. This year there has been a considerable rise in the number of people who use the internet for staying in touch with friends, doing their shopping, and watching new TV shows.
Jumping onboard popular social media trends
Sure, there might be fewer pictures to post on social apps like Instagram as people spend more time indoors, but there are still lots of ways that users have been utilizing the platform and others for new DIY projects, keeping in touch with friends, and finding inspirational and motivating posts on their news feed. TikTok has become particularly popular this year, with its video challenges and trends. With snappy shot video clips and interesting soundtracks, users have been spending a lot of time on the platform this year to create fun and entertaining video content.
From family dance sequences and street roller skating to working from home routines and small business product packing clips, there has been plenty of TikTok content for users to immerse themselves in in 2020. ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac became one of the latest TikTok trends over the past few months. It all started with a video by @420doggface208, as he cruised down a street on his skateboard, casually sipping cranberry juice while lip-syncing to the popular Fleetwood Mac song. The TikTok user had no idea that his clip would go viral and make him an overnight internet celeb. His original video has over 20m views and lots of other creators have started following the trend. Even Mick Fleetwood himself made an account and recreated it!
Staying in touch with the outside world
There are a number of mobile apps, tools, and software that people have been using this year from WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to Zoom and Microsoft Teams. With fast internet connections and modernized tech, people from all around the world can communicate with each other more quickly and efficiently than ever before. This year, with people spending more time at home and even working from home, there has been a wide range of tools that people have turned to help stay in touch with others.
Zoom has been hugely successful this year and has helped many people keep in touch with their friends, family, and colleagues. Earlier this year, Zoom quizzes proved to be quite popular too. With many people still at home in December, there are also some who might even be looking to host a Christmas party on Zoom. With the technology readily available to download and with fast internet speeds, Zoom, and other video conferencing technology has proven to be a very popular communication method in 2020.
Taking things virtual
This year has seen many physical events, shows, and tournaments either canceled or postponed until 2021. Even Wimbledon was canceled this year for the first time since World War II. From sporting events to exhibitions and fashion shows, it’s been an unpredictable year for many. However, where possible, some events have been able to take place online. Events like Indonesia Fashion Week and the British Fashion Awards were held virtually for the first time this year.
In 2020, there have been a lot of activities and events that people have been turning to virtually instead of in-person, from film festivals to business seminars, and from dating to job interviews. This year, many adults have also been turning to online gambling at online casinos rather than attending land-based establishments. There are many pros and cons of online casinos and live casinos and with technology continuing to advance each year, virtual gambling might become even more popular as time goes on.
Streaming popular TV shows and content
As cinemas have had to close their doors for the majority of 2020, there have been a lot of film releases that have been postponed and put on hold. Fans of the 007 franchise were excited to see the 25th Bond film ‘No Time To Die’ released in April 2020, but was later pushed back to November. However, it was later announced that the Bond film would be further postponed until April 2021. As many big film releases have been delayed until next year, many audiences have been turning to stream platforms for entertainment.
It’s no surprise that as people spent more time at home this year, viewer numbers on Netflix started to grow. Over the years video streaming has also become much more popular with platforms like Netflix being hugely successful while audiences have been unable to go to cinemas. Shows like The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, and Ratched, have just been some of the Netflix show that has been immensely popular this year. The Queen’s Gambit, starring Ana Taylor-Joy has even sparked a huge surge of interest in chess and even prompted millions of new players to register for Chess.com. Since the release of the new Netflix Original, there have been approximately 2.5 million new members joining the website.
Doing most of their shopping online
Throughout 2020, it’s been inevitable that more and more people are spending their time and money online. Of course, this is having a big impact on the high street but it’s also helping some eCommerce businesses thrive. Companies like Amazon have performed incredibly well throughout the year as people choose to do more online shopping rather than go out physically to a range of different shops. Towards Christmas there have also been many consumers wishing to shop smaller and support smaller businesses during 2020. Websites like Etsy have a wide range of small business owners active on the site selling their handmade products.
