Indonesia has seen the most coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia for the majority of the pandemic. The country’s main containment measures include mask mandates, banning social gatherings, limiting building capacities, and remote work — all of which call for isolation to varying degrees. While these mitigative measures have adversely impacted the economy, they have also affected the population’s mental wellbeing. The triggering factors vary in different age groups, from health risks to economic uncertainty, and the threat of being laid off, to social isolation.
An online survey conducted during the pandemic revealed that 92.5% of the respondents experienced mild to high levels of anxiety, whereas the majority of them had low physical activity. Is low physical activity related to the pandemic mitigation measures? In addition, people living in urban areas are 47.6% more likely to feel anxious relative to those in rural areas. Moreover, the survey unveiled an intriguing finding: that there is no correlation between screen-based work and anxiety levels. Could this be caused by the respondents’ screen time habits? After all, the survey was conducted online. We wonder if there will be a different result if the survey used other data collection methods. A bigger sample may also be needed to increase the accuracy of these findings.
