Romanians Prefer Podcasts, Self-Help Books Over Visiting Psychologists
The annual study carried out by the CIPRA Association – Center for Information, Risk Prevention and Analysis shows that 53% of Romanians are satisfied with the activities they do for personal development (compared to 44% last year), especially men (58%) and young people aged between 18 and 24 (60%). At the same time, 36% of respondents believe that investing in activities for personal development represents a balance factor in their lives.
According to the study, on the first position in the list of personal development activities preferred by Romanians is watching podcasts, mentioned by 49% of the respondents (54%, in the case of those between the ages of 35 and 45). Preference for podcasts has seen a significant increase this year, up from 38% in 2023, and is closely followed by reading personal development books, with 47% in 2024, up from 45% last year, this being predominantly the choice of people in the aged 55-65 years. Vocational courses and specializations, coaching/counseling and seeing a psychologist were also mentioned in the same section, but with much lower percentages.
“Easy access to information through social media, new ways to send messages and interact in virtual space explain such a large number of respondents who prefer watching podcasts as their first option. Basically, we are talking about an adaptation to the current social and cultural context. However, the fact that there is an almost equal number of respondents who prefer personal development books, can show us that in Romania, at least, there is still a generational difference, with those aged between 55 and 56 remaining faithful to the way of accessing information which they have been used to for the longest time. It is interesting to continue to watch how this data will evolve over time and how it will influence the relationship with psychologists, personal coaching/counseling, more precisely, to what extent people will still seek the help of a therapist when they have access to such a large number of podcasts that help them to be as self-taught as possible”, says Bianca Dragomir, anthropologist, CIPRA expert.
When asked about their favorite leisure activities, 68% of respondents indicated nature walks, followed by shopping (54%) and reading (41%). 39% of respondents go to the cinema or watch movies at home, 38% see friends, 29% practice a hobby, such as sports, fishing, dancing, painting or gastronomy, 25% go out to a restaurant/bar/club, and 17 % relax with pampering activities (massage, spa, manicure).
Additionally, the desire to organize themselves better in order to have more free time was mentioned this year by a significantly higher number of respondents (52%, compared to 44% in 2023) as a key factor for balancing personal and professional life, followed by:
· the courage to make changes that improve their lives (44%)
· more time for hobbies (42%) · more vacations (41%)
· a more active social life (37%)
· investing in personal development activities (36%)
· specialized help, such as therapy, coaching, or mentoring (17%).
Conducted by Reveal Marketing Research in May 2024 using CAWI methodology (online self-administered questionnaires), the CIPRA study targeted a nationally representative sample of 1008 respondents, men and women, internet users aged 18 to 65, from both urban and rural areas.
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