Use of Digital Media for Home-Based Sports Activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from the German SPOVID Survey

Michael Mutz, Johannes Müller and Anne K. Reimers
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Michael Mutz: Institute of Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Kugelberg 62, 35394 Giessen, Germany
Johannes Müller: Institute of Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Kugelberg 62, 35394 Giessen, Germany
Anne K. Reimers: Department of Sport Science and Sport, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Gebbertstrasse 123b, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: Health authorities recommend digital tools for home-based sport and exercise routines to stay active and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study investigates the prevalence, duration, most popular activities, and social selectivity of home-based digital sport and its contribution to overall levels of sporting activity during the pandemic. It is based on cross-sectional survey data ( n = 1508), representing the population >14 years living in Germany. Data collection took place in October 2020, using computer-assisted web interviewing. Results show that overall, 23% of respondents used digital media for sports activities at least one time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Numbers increased during the lockdown and decreased afterwards. People engaged in a variety of fitness workouts, most frequently practiced with the help of publicly accessible fitness videos from video-sharing platforms. Digital sports practitioners are younger, better educated, and financially better off. Females are overrepresented. Individuals engaged in digital sports achieved 30 min/week more sports activity during the pandemic compared to individuals solely involved in offline sports. Hence, home-based digital sports activities were a popular means to stay active, particularly in the period of the lockdown. Strong social disparities indicate that the possible health benefits of digital sports only reach out to particular population groups.

Keywords: COVID-19; online fitness; digitalization; physical activity; social inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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