The global pandemic has altered more than the way we travel, more than the way we do business and more than the way we shop at Costco. It has also changed our personalities, according to a new study by Oracle. A representative survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers found the harsh circumstances wrought by COVID-19 have actually improved us — making many people feel smarter, mindful, and more open to new experiences as well as more conscientious, but it has also created a sense of disconnection from personal relationships.
Nicer, More Open Personalities Emerge
Many Americans reported an increased conscientiousness, an openness to new experiences, and a new sense of agreeableness.
# A majority of respondents (86 percent) say they saw a change in at least one of the five major “OCEAN” (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion/Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) personality traits due to COVID-19.
# Becoming more conscientious (40 percent) and open to new experiences (38 percent) were the most common personality changes.
# Despite the stresses of the moment, one-third (33 percent) of people reported increased agreeableness due to the global pandemic.
Effects of Increased Online Activity and New Hobbies
More time at home has led to reading, streaming, and new hobbies, making Americans feel smarter.
# 70 percent of Americans say they have read more and learned more during the pandemic and feel smarter. By comparison, only 30 percent say the chaos of the pandemic distracted them from continuing to learn new things.
# A majority (58 percent) say the media source they spend the most time on is either social media or streaming media. Comparatively, only 20 percent report spending the most time watching traditional television.
# 70 percent also started at least one “trendy” hobby during the pandemic with the three most common hobbies being at-home workouts (46 percent), baking sourdough bread or banana bread (27 percent), making whipped coffee (23 percent), and filming TikTok videos (21 percent)
# And while some binge shopped and accrued more belongings (32 percent), 30 percent of individuals decreased the amount of personal belongings during the pandemic.
Romance and Relationships Redefined
Social distancing and shelter-in-place measures have taken a significant toll on romantic relationships, as well as relationships with friends and family.
# Among the 30 percent of respondents who identified as single, 72 percent say the pandemic altered their romantic outlook in at least one major way, with 61 percent having spent lockdowns alone.
# More than a quarter of Americans (27 percent) changed their relationship status during the pandemic. The most common relationship change was breakup or divorce (19 percent), while only nine percent got engaged or married.
+ Among those who went through a breakup or divorce, only 21 percent were able to dissolve the relationship with an in-person conversation.
+ Midwesterners were the most likely to have an in-person conversation (35 percent), while the West Coasters were least likely (just 14 percent). Northeasterners were the most likely group to use Zoom to break up (19 percent) and Southwesterners were most likely to end a relationship with ghosting (21 percent).
+ One third of Gen Z respondents who had a beak up did so over text message (32 percent).
# 34 percent of Americans report their relationships with friends becoming less connected, compared to 15 percent who became closer with friends. In addition, more than half of Americans (52 percent) reported making no new friends over the past year.
# More than 70 percent of Americans say their relationships with family changed, with 22 percent feeling less connected from their family. However, 30 percent believe the pandemic brought their family closer together.
Americans Adapt to a New Normal
People quickly embraced technology without missing the old work rituals of commuting or being professionally dressed, but we do yearn for post-pandemic experiences.
# Sweatsuits and pajamas have become the most popular attire for Zoom calls for work (38 percent), while 14 percent of Americans say they’ve been partially naked on a work Zoom call.
# Four in ten respondents (43 percent) did not miss the commute to work, business travel (31 percent), or getting dressed or groomed professionally (30 percent).
# The most popular services or habits formed during the pandemic included:
+ Delivery (51 percent)
+ Increased spending on groceries instead of restaurants (48 percent)
+ Contactless / cashless payments (46 percent)
+ Curbside pickup (44 percent)
+ Virtual doctor appointments (40 percent)
# 40 percent of Americans are planning to continue using these services in the future.
# 96 percent of Americans are planning to enjoy at least one previously restricted activity when it’s safe. The most anticipated activities include indoor dining (74 percent), travel out of state (72 percent), and concerts (61 percent).
# More than half of people in loyalty programs (54 percent) are concerned that accrued rewards points will expire.
“We experienced several paradoxes over the last 13 plus months. We were lonely, yet more connected online. We were bored, yet took on many new hobbies. We were isolated from in-person learning, yet still feel smarter,” said Nate Skinner, senior vice president, Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX). “Our lives were impacted in ways we couldn’t control, and our rapidly changing consumer habits make it hard for brands to keep up. The experiences of the last year will continue to have massive implications on our consumption and buying behavior as we move forward in a post-pandemic era.”
Long-Haul Flights with Learning Benefits
Emirates has teamed up with Mindvalley to offer travelers ways for mindful travel that can enhance their lives and skills and generally allow them to better themselves during a long flight. The lessons can be learned anywhere and taken anywhere.
Mindvalley is a leading personal growth education company that is sharing four of its premium personal transformation courses, also known as Quests, with Emirates for use in their flight entertainment offerings. With more than 30 Quests and hundreds of hours of learning taught by known experts, Mindvalley provides the tools needed to unleash the fullest potential of one’s mind, body, and spirit and optimize time on a long flight between destinations. Mindvalley’s Quests, often quite pricey otherwise, are now available for free through Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, Ice.
Mindvalley Quests
“The pandemic has been the catalyst needed to prioritize personal growth and we are excited to bring positive change to travelers as flying picks up once again,” says Vishen Lakhiani, Founder and CEO of Mindvalley. “Mindvalley’s mission is to disrupt the education system by teaching skills that are traditionally overlooked at school. Now passengers can learn from the best teachers in the world on a campus that defies borders while flying onboard Emirates.”
These Quests are available inflight starting this month:
+ Conscious Parenting by Dr. Shefali Tsabary – Receive the tools and perspective needed to nurture more authentic, fulfilled, and self-aware children.
+ Super Brain and 5 Steps to Powerful Memory by Jim Kwik – Activate your brain’s limitless potential.
+ Speak & Inspire by Lisa Nichols – Learn the power of good communication skills from the world’s most advanced public speaking course.
+ Becoming Extraordinary by Vishen Lakhiani – Become extraordinary by evolving the level of consciousness you operate from.
+ 7 Days to Breaking Up with Sugar by Eric Edmeades — Permanently eliminate your sugar cravings
+ 6 Phase Meditation with Vishen Lakhiani — Master meditation in less than 3 hours.
+ 5 Steps to Discover your Life Purpose by Michael Beckwith — Learn the principles that go beyond traditional goal setting and manifesting.
In a recent interview with MindValley founder, Vishen Lakhiani, Travel-Intel learned just how important and helpful mindfulness can be.
Please address why travelers, and business travelers in particular, should know about your company and programs
While traveling for work, we tend to face all types of stress and challenges, and may also have some down time, especially while flying—so it’s great that Emirates passengers have access to some of our best Mindvalley courses.
Business travelers and all travelers alike can also take advantage of Mindvalley content 24 hours a day, seven days a week, not just while flying. While we have a lot of free content available on our YouTube channel Mindvalley Talks and free Masterclasses on Mindvalley.com, the Mindvalley membership costs just $2 a day and you’ll develop skills to help you thrive in life and work.
Instructors have created courses centered around mindset and self-mastery and you’ll become more engaged and empowered and eliminate the burnout. It’s a known fact that 85 percent of employees are not engaged in the workplace, 81percent of employees are considering leaving their jobs, and 69 percent of employees say they would commit more to their work if they were appreciated more. We must invest in personal growth for ourselves because life is short and we should love what we do.
How did your partnership with EK come about?
Emirates is one of my favorite airlines and, I knew that if we collaborated with them, they’d be the perfect vehicle to bring fresh and incredible content to help us continue our mission of touching one billion lives. So we brought this idea to them and they loved our catalog of high quality content—Mindvalley programs bring a new type of feature that no other airlines currently have, and they saw the value this would bring for their customers. Now I’m proud to say that Emirates and Mindvalley are providing premium transformational growth content to millions of passengers every year, as COVID restrictions slowly lift and traveling continues to open up.
Please describe the decision to offer Quests, vs. regular meditation programming?
Quests are programs designed on our signature online learning platform and combine community and daily microlearning to transform you in ways traditional education never could. One of the Quests available in-flight to all Emirates travelers is the 6-Phase Meditation – it is practiced by millions including celebrities and athletes all over the world. Meditation can do much more than just clear your mind to achieve relaxation. The 6 Phase covers 6 mental frameworks, from forgiveness to manifestation, to get you feeling more balanced than ever before.
Please describe what Quests are and their purpose
Mindvalley Quests are programs designed on our signature online learning platform to transform you in ways traditional education never could. From longevity and wellness, to peak performance and spirituality, you’ll learn skills designed by the world’s best teachers, authors and visionaries, available on one platform and accessible from your Smartphone, TV or Desktop. Using our unique Quest methodology, our programs combine community and daily microlearning and are designed to be as addictive and fun as computer games, yielding 500 percent better completion rates than traditional online webinars. Hundreds to Thousands of students take classes together and engage in supportive communities. You’re never alone and you might even make a close friend or two
These Quests are complimentary now? Will that last? Are they complimentary to all passengers? On all EK flights? If not, what routes?
As of now, Mindvalley’s Quests will be available indefinitely on all Emirates flights and routes on its inflight entertainment system, Ice.
Are Quests also available to everyone on the App? Is that the Omvana app or another? Are they only available on these flights?
All Quests and Mindvalley content are available on The Mindvalley app and on the Mindvalley website to anyone, across the world. This also includes all content from our performance meditation app, Omvana.
Is MV looking to expand this program to other air brands? If so, what would that look like?
We are always looking for and open to partnerships that can help spread personal growth to the world, and in-flight is just one of many ways. It’s our mission to support life-long learners in their growth journeys.
Will you be continuing to roll out new Quests?
Soon, Emirates will add the following courses to the roster:
+ Money EQ by Ken Honda – Transform your relationship with money and open the floodgates to a life of free-flowing wealth and prosperity.
+ Everyday Bliss by Paul McKenna, PhD – Become your calmer and more resilient self.
And as a brand, Mindvalley adds new Quests every month. Check Instagram @Mindvalley to stay in the loop.
Can you remark on why travelers stand to benefit significantly from using meditation, relaxation and Quest recordings?
Especially given the stress and grief of the last year, the return to travel may cause anxiety for even the most frequent flyers. Through Quests, which focus on personal growth and development, we believe we can help ease some of that anxiety and help flyers find fulfillment and growth throughout their travels. It will also be a welcome distraction for anxious flyers. We’ve seen such an uptick in the desire to prioritize self-growth in the last year, and we want to help travelers continue on the path to fulfillment. I believe we are at the forefront of this trend, as we will certainly see personal growth and wellness tools cropping up on more inflight entertainment offerings and in airports.
Please describe what Mindvalley is, how it came about, what its core purpose is and its success in accomplishing that purpose
Mindvalley is reinventing our outdated education system so that learning is relevant, engaging and affordable in today’s age of automation. As the leading personal growth brand in the world, we are filling the learning gap with courses that connect people all over the world through deeply engaging educational experiences. Our ‘Quests’ feature science-based learning theories from the world’s top instructors brought to life through great storytelling. Over the years, Mindvalley has amassed a dedicated following of 15 million growth-seekers and has truly become the only destination for lifelong learning to advance and unite humanity.
Author: Lark Gould
Lark Gould has been a travel industry journalist for more than 30 years. She shares her insight on cruise travel, air travel, hotels, resorts, popular activities, attractions and destinations to assist travel advisors and travelers with the current news and information they need to travel well.
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