Finding a way to keep yourself entertained can be a nightmare at the best of times, but over the previous year and a half, people have had to be more creative with what methods they have used to alleviate boredom. Whether through lifestyle changes or even just keeping up with various aspects of the outside world, breaking the monotony was the number one rule for large spells of 2020.
Sport maintained normality
Thankfully, the sport was a near-constant in what has been a very difficult year for everyone worldwide. Although it stopped initially as people looked to adapt, sports were one of the first things to open up again despite the lockdowns as people sought to maintain some normality in their lives. Sport kept going when all else stopped as it was seen as vital to provide some escape for people who were sat on their sofas day after day. Nevertheless, it is thanks to this that, at least to some extent, many people used the return of football amongst other sports to cope with the sense of isolation brought about by lockdowns.
The world went online
It is not just sport that continued, though, as the world of online gaming still survived as once again, people needed to find a way to ease their boredom. Many people went online as it was the only method they had for socializing, which saw an increase in the number of people gaming online. Unsurprisingly the numbers skyrocketed, and now it is believed that at least 1.6 billion people game worldwide, with 4.2 billion believed to gamble at some point over the course of a year. This is not too big a shock; even with the best will globally, people would have eventually run out of things to do, so turning online almost seems like a natural progression. In addition, games like online poker benefitted from newfound popularity as people sought to learn how to play to learn a new skill and push themselves forward.
With sport continuing throughout the pandemic, it provided people with that initial incentive to get off their sofas and maintain some form of exercise routine. Even with the hour, they were allowed out of the house; they made the most of it. Yes, it tailed off as expected, but once sport started up again, people did start trying to exercise again as they tried to shed some of that lockdown weight. In addition, just having these people on the screen on an almost daily basis provided some incentive as people desperately looked for ways to cope and relieve boredom.  Despite all this, if it wasn’t for the return of sport about two months in, then surviving lockdown might have been even harder.
It goes without saying that sport was a difference maker in lockdown as people tried their best to alleviate boredom. However, with the world reopening, people are still flocking back, and hopefully, this could be the start of a sporting boom.