Differences in the ways of spending leisure time by Generation Z tertiary students before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Grażyna  Węgrzyn; Danuta Miłaszewicz; Marcin Salamaga

doi:https://doi.org/10.59139/ws.2026.05.2

Grażyna Węgrzyn Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu, Wydział Ekonomii i Finansów, Katedra Ekonomii i Polityki Ekonomicznej, Polska / Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics and Economic Policy, Poland ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4735-2807 , Danuta Miłaszewicz Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Wydział Ekonomii, Finansów i Zarządzania, Instytut Ekonomii i Finansów, Katedra Ekonomii, Polska / University of Szczecin, Faculty of Economics, Finance and Management, Institute of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics, Poland ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6429-7331 , Marcin Salamaga Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Krakowie, Kolegium Ekonomii i Finansów, Instytut Metod Ilościowych w Naukach Społecznych, Katedra Statystyki, Polska / Krakow University of Economics, College of Economics and Finance, Institute of Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences, Department of Statistics, Poland ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0225-6651 Wiadomości Statystyczne. The Polish Statistician, vol. 71, 2026, 5, s. 27-44 Opublikowano online: 1 czerwca 2026 DOI https://doi.org/10.59139/ws.2026.05.2

25 Wyświetlenia 23 Pobrania

ARTYKUŁ

(Angielski) PDF

STRESZCZENIE

Changes in the way young people spend their leisure time are an important indicator of social and economic transformations as well as of the influence of external factors on everyday life. The aim of the study discussed in the article is to identify changes which took place in the time budget and structure of leisure activities of Generation Z tertiary students in Poland after the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, paying particular attention to gender differences and the role of paid work. The analysis was performed on the basis of three waves of a questionnaire survey conducted in 2018, 2020 and 2023. The analysis of variance, chi-square tests and Student’s t-tests were applied to assess the significance of the observed changes. The study indicates that a substantial reorganisation of time budget took place between 2018 and 2023: the importance of studying declined, while the role of paid work and digital entertainment increased. Gender differences persisted throughout the studied period: women devoted more time to studying and household duties, while men were more involved in sports and digital activities. The findings highlight the usefulness of classical statistical methods in analysing social change, and provide important guidelines for the educational policy.

SŁOWA KLUCZOWE

leisure time, Generation Z, COVID-19 pandemic, statistical methods, gender differences

JEL

C12, I21, J16

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