We’ve been asking people about this for a number of weeks, which means we can track any changes over time. That said, there’s been very little movement, with no metric moving outside of a two point range.

What’s obvious is that a lot of people are experiencing physical effects. Because of lockdowns:

• 37% have reported sleep issues
• 37% have reported putting on weight
• 28% have reported back pain
• 23% have reported having migraines

Here’s how some of our latest data looks when segmented by country.

Chinese respondents reported the lowest levels for all health issues. This is likely due to the country not implementing a national lockdown, and because many measures were lifted quite a while back. For example, Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, saw its lockdown lifted nearly two months ago.

Since China is considered ahead of the curve compared to the other countries studied, this could suggest that any problems people faced due to the lockdowns have decreased since they were lifted. This is good news for countries reporting high numbers for health issues now.

Speaking of high numbers, people in the UK appear to be suffering a lot. For sleep issues, weight gain, and migraines, they top the list. For back pain, they come second.

The country has seen a national lockdown in place since March, and is the only country (with the exception of Australia) in this list with one still in place. To find out more about how lifestyles have changed in the UK and what consumers’ priorities are likely to be now, see our in-depth report here.

Regardless of the country, it’s clear that many will come out of lockdowns physically affected, whether they got Covid-19 or not.

There’s no end in sight for TikTok’s rise

Back in March, we reported on how TikTok had exploded in popularity during lockdown. And because we’re hitting bulletin number 50 today, it felt fitting to check in on the app to find out if it had continued its course to social platform stardom, or if it was just given a temporary lockdown boost.

To investigate, we used our Consumer Research platform to search for English-language mentions of TikTok (on other social media platforms and sites) since January 2020. Since March mentions of the app have grown at an average of 16% per week.

For the week commencing May 18, mentions increased 101% on the previous week. This was when the platform announced a virtual K-pop concert in aid of Covid-19. Loyal fans went crazy and dance routines were swiftly practiced.

Arguably that’s one of the things which makes TikTok so sticky. People love to get in on the choreographed dance routines, which come with music and a light show. In fact, worldwide Google search interest for ‘TikTok lights’ hit an all-time high during lockdown. The multi-colored LED lights are part of the platform-specific product trend, kind of like Zoom backgrounds and ring lights.

Brands are buying into the platform, too. According to Google Trends, interest in TikTok ads is, again, at an all-time high. The BBC reports this is because advertisers are looking at more effective ways to engage with consumers during lockdown.

If you ask us, we don’t see the TikTok train stopping anytime soon. It might be worth jumping aboard.

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Stay safe,

Brandwatch Response Team