In many ways over the past couple of years it has felt like our society has been defined by division. Lots of us live far away from home, don’t know our neighbours and, nationally, we are given polarising labels; Brexiteer or Remainer, Millennial or Boomer, Northerner or Southerner.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has, for many, transformed the way we perceive society. At the start of the coronavirus crisis we saw an abundance of stories about communities coming together to support each other in extraordinary circumstances. There was an overwhelming response to the call for NHS volunteers and community aid groups were immediately set up to pick up shopping or deliver medicine to vulnerable citizens self-isolating. During our projects we’ve worked on over the past few months we’ve also heard stories of people shopping locally to support their local businesses or talking to neighbours for the first time ever.
The data seems to back this up. In Message House’s latest research, we have found that the majority of the UK public currently feel as though the Covid-19 pandemic has brought people together (61%) as opposed to driving them apart (39%). However, when we dig a little deeper we find this sentiment is not shared among all audiences.
Older generations were slightly more willing to say that the pandemic has brought people together, over 65’s (68%) were particularly likely to believe that this was the case. A probable explanation for this is increased online social interaction in this age group as recent figures from Ofcom suggest. They stated 61% of those online aged 65+ were making at least weekly video calls in May, compared with just 22% in February 2020. This aligns with a previous piece of research we conducted in June on attitudes to lockdown which showed that individuals were reaching out to family and friends online more than they had done previously due to the pandemic.
However, not everyone feels that positive about togetherness. A survey conducted by the ONS between April and June on unity and division in Great Britain found that perceptions of unity within the country are associated with those who have higher average life satisfaction and happiness. We found that those in full time education and the self-employed were more cynical with 54% of both groups saying that the pandemic has driven people apart. The closure of university campuses and the lockdown has meant that a lot of younger people have been torn away from friendship groups at a time in their lives when it is especially important to them. Many of their future job prospects have also been dampened due to the economic downturn. For several of the self-employed and contractors the pandemic has meant that work has dried up.
Furthermore, while our survey shows that feelings of togetherness are strong on a community level, this sentiment may not extend nationally. Regionally within the UK, Message House found that those in the West Midlands (68%) and Scotland (67%) had the greatest propensity to think that people had been brought together. However, this was in direct contrast with ONS data where adults in Scotland were some of the least optimistic on unity (31%) compared to the rest of the UK. The differing response could be attributed to the phrasing of the questions; with ours asking about ‘people’ whereas the ONS asked about ‘Britain’. It could be that framing the question around ‘Britain’ brought up the contentious issue of independence in Scotland and the differing responses to the crisis of the Scottish government to the national government.
Research like this is a great way for brands to look below the surface and uncover these differing attitudes which set the context in which their messages will land. We know from Message House research early on in lockdown that people are paying close attention to what brands have been doing, so it’s more important than ever for brands to know your audience and listen to what they’re experiencing. As we enter Autumn and many return to schools and offices, the context will change again – will the sense of unity and togetherness last? That remains to be seen.
Message House asked 2,099 members of the British public which of two statements was closest to their view: 'The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to bring people together' or 'The COVID-19 pandemic has driven people apart.' Fieldwork took place from 19th-20th August 2020.
