People wearing masks

Chapter 1

Human connections in crisis

How has the pandemic affected the way that we interact with others?

Almost half of consumers globally say the pandemic has been difficult for them—and that it has changed their life completely. The impact has been felt most severely in Latin America and the United States. At the time of publishing, the US has had the highest number of COVID-19 infections globally; Brazil has had the third highest. Consumers in Asia-Pacific, where numbers were more controlled, have found it least difficult.

Across the world, youth have felt the biggest effects of “pandemic life.” More than half of millennials and Generation Z respondents say the pandemic has been difficult and life-changing. Yet, for a significant number of survey respondents, the pandemic has been neither hard nor life-changing. And one-third of Baby Boomers reported this isn’t a particularly difficult time.

Regional comparison of those who found the pandemic hard