New Year's Resolutions Have Changed During The Pandemic. Here's How

Every new year presents fresh hope, fresh optimism, and the promise of better days and better things to come (via HuffPost). For many, this would begin with a New Year's resolution.

The culture of making New Year's resolutions is actually so common that as of 2022, one in four Americans do it, per YouGov). Whether it is a decision to get in shape, visit more friends, save more money, be more hardworking, cut out alcohol or drugs, learn a new skill, be more intentional about one's studies, or pretty much just anything that matters to the resolution-maker, the list of the improvements people seek to make on an annual basis is simply quite personal and nearly inexhaustible (via Cake) — although that also means that people sometimes make terrible New Year's resolutions.

But like everything that has happened in the world around us since the start of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago, the approach to New Year's resolution seems to have changed as well, per CentraState Healthcare System. What matters now is not so much the things that mattered a few years ago and New Year's resolutions are reflecting that.

Let's show you how the pandemic has influenced the New Year's resolution that people are making these days.

As of 2018, the most common New Year's resolutions had to do with money and eating well. 53% of Americans wanted to save more in the new year while 45% wanted to whip themselves into a healthier shape, per Discover Healthy Habits. That pattern was sustained in 2019 and even in 2020. Even by 2021, people still wanted to exercise more, per News 19 — probably in a bid to stay healthier and buff up their immune system against the COVID-19 virus.

In 2022, New Year's resolutions are heavily influenced by the realities of living in a pandemic era. "Living in Arizona during a pandemic has shown me that I need to be in a state that actually cares about public health and safety, so my resolution is to move by January of next year and find a safer place to live going forward," a 20-year-old tells Teen Vogue.

The mental health of many has also suffered greatly due to the pandemic, making the prioritization of mental wellbeing a popular resolution for 2022. "If one thing, COVID made me realize the significance of mental and physical wellbeing. For 2022, I plan on signing up for more activities that could keep both of that in check," another young adult tells Teen Vogue.

Some experts are even advising people to not bother with resolutions in 2022, due to how stressful the pandemic period has been to all, per CNET. "This is an especially difficult year that we don't really want to set ourselves up for that kind of disappointment and stress that makes it even harder to cope," says Dr. Sophie Lazarus, a psychologist at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University.