Over Half of Young Adults Say "COVID Infection Depends on Luck"... Relaxed Attitudes Toward Prevention Measures

Research Team of Professor Yum Myung-soon at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health Conducts November Awareness Survey

On the 18th, citizens waiting to be tested at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] A survey revealed that an increasing number of people, especially among younger age groups, believe that contracting the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is a matter of luck. To prevent the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, it is crucial to follow basic quarantine rules such as wearing masks properly and reducing contact, but this common sense no longer seems to be effective. The rate of compliance with recommended behaviors, such as refraining from going out or maintaining distance from others, also fell below the average.

According to the COVID-19 perception survey results announced on the 19th by the research team led by Professor Yoo Myung-soon of Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, 46.1% of respondents answered "yes" to the statement "Whether I get infected or not is somewhat a matter of luck." In May, 37.5% responded affirmatively to the same item, showing an increase of nearly 9 percentage points in half a year.

Similar tendencies were observed in another related question. For the statement "What will happen is bound to happen," 46.8% answered affirmatively, an increase of 8.7 percentage points over the same period. The research team explained that such fatalistic and deterministic beliefs about infectious diseases?which can change depending on how members of a society respond?are spreading, leading to reduced efforts to prevent risks. This is interpreted as a result of increased fatigue and stress among individuals as the COVID-19 situation has continued for nearly ten months.

Deterministic Belief Trends about COVID-19 by Age Group

This tendency was particularly pronounced among young people. Regarding the question about whether infection depends on luck, 56.6% of people in their 20s answered affirmatively. Those in their 30s (51.2%) and 40s (51%) also exceeded half. This contrasts with the 50-60 age group, where less than 40% responded affirmatively.

This trend aligns with the actual domestic confirmed case data. Recently, there has been a clear increase in new confirmed cases centered on younger age groups. According to health authorities, over the four weeks from mid-October to early this month, the proportion of confirmed cases aged 40 and under was 49.1%, and based on the first week of this month alone, it reached 52.2%. This indicates that as awareness of quarantine measures has loosened, new infections have increased.

The proportion of people agreeing that warnings from health authorities and experts are too general increased from 40.5% in May to 49.6%. This is interpreted as an increase in desensitization as the domestic COVID-19 situation has continued for nearly ten months. Regarding compliance with recommended behaviors issued by authorities, mask-wearing, covering coughs with sleeves, and handwashing were well observed, whereas refraining from going out, avoiding public transportation, and maintaining a 2-meter distance when meeting others were relatively less observed. Particularly, compliance rates were low among young and middle-aged adults under 40.

Professor Yoo said, "Even if infection spreads nationwide, the low perception of infection risk may be due to an optimistic bias that bad things will not happen to oneself," adding, "Now, as signs of a third wave appear, everyone can be vulnerable to infection, and especially since the infection risk is actually high among young and middle-aged adults, communication should be more actively pursued."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.