Abstract

Covid-19 lockdowns have significantly changed everyone’s lives, especially the lives of university students. A lack of in-person social interaction due to hybrid and online classes has led to an increase in isolation and loneliness. One way that people might cope with the psychological challenges of Covid-19 restrictions is through participating in hobbies. This study discovered that hobbies positively impacted the mental health of university students during the Covid-19 pandemic. The hypothesis was that hobbies would be beneficial for university students’ mental health, so long as the time spent participating was reasonably monitored. By defining four types of hobbies—electronic, physical, logical, and artistic—this research provided insights into the connection between people’s favourite hobbies and their mental health. The research was conducted through a Google Forms survey online over a two-week period. Fifteen students at MacEwan University aged 18–46 answered a 16-question survey combinining open-ended and closed-ended questions. The questions fit into three main categories: demographic, lifestyle, and mental health. Demographic questions asked participants specific information about themselves and their academic situations, lifestyle questions look at participants’ day-to-day activities, and mental health questions assessed the emotional response to an individual’s lifestyle. The research concluded that all participants’ hobbies brought them joy. Amongst the hobby types, physical, logical, and electronic hobbies (in moderation) were most associated with joy. On the other hand, artistic and electronic hobbies were more likely to bring stress. Finally, the majority of participants reported that their number one source of hobby-related joy came from escaping stress and social connections. The number one source of hobby-related stress resulted from perfectionism.

            Keywords: hobbies, mental health, university students, Covid-19, stress, joy