Americans Go Outdoors: Update

Americans Go Outdoors: Update

Americans Go Outdoors: Update

A recent University of Colorado Boulder study, published in the journal PLOS One, found that people who were exposed to more green space during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic reported significantly less depression and anxiety. In the midst of lockdowns and with the fear of being indoors with others changing their behaviors, more than seven million more Americans participated in outdoor activities in 2020 than in 2019, with some of the largest increases occurring in hiking, fishing and camping, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. Now, lockdowns have ended, indoor gatherings are increasing and many Americans are attempting to get back to some pre-pandemic normal. But that will not signal the end of the momentum behind people spending more time outdoors and more money on outdoor activities, because the pandemic wasn’t the original driver of the behavior. Some of our previously identified dynamics, including the Consumer Value Hierarchy, Anxiety Becomes Normal, From a Better Living to a Better Life and A Different Adulthood, along with current facts and events, suggest that the desire to spend more time outside and participate in outdoor sports and activities will continue even when the COVID-19 pandemic is largely behind us.

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