American Families Growing Closer Amid COVID-19

New Life360 Survey Reveals Pandemic’s Impact on Family Life

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Life360, the leading safety and coordination service for families, today announced survey results of 2,300 families across the United States on how the pandemic has impacted family life. The survey, which was issued on April 21, reveals attitudes towards the current climate, as well as insights around family behavior during this unprecedented time.

How Families Feel About COVID-19:

• Sheltering-in-place hasn’t been a huge inconvenience for families. 66 percent of families report that sheltering-in-place has been moderately or slightly inconvenient, while only 26 percent reporting it being very or extremely inconvenient. Nine percent shared that it hasn’t been inconvenient at all.
• Families are taking shelter-in-place seriously. 99 percent of families report they are taking sheltering-in-place seriously (40 percent taking it extremely seriously, 43 percent very seriously, and 16 percent somewhat seriously). Parents are taking it slightly more seriously than children, with nearly 85 percent reporting they’re taking it extremely or very seriously compared with 73 percent of children.
• Not all families are ready to get back to regular routines. Once shelter-in-place mandates are lifted, a quarter of families (25 percent) will still be uncomfortable going back to their regular, pre-COVID-19 routines.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Family Life:

• Families are growing fonder and more connected. Despite reports of disgruntled family life, 33 percent of families state that their parent/child relationships have improved amid the pandemic, compared to only six percent who report it has worsened. The most popular ways that families are connecting during the pandemic are by watching TV and movies (73 percent) and cooking (56 percent), followed by outdoor activities (43 percent), and crafting (34 percent).
• Families are not limiting screen time even though “too much screen time” is the largest source of stress. When asked their biggest source of stress, too much screen time came in at No. 1. (followed by financial obligations). That said, less than one-third (27 percent) of families are limiting screen time.
• With schools closed, homeschooling is on the rise -- and it hasn’t been easy. Two thirds (66 percent) of families have been homeschooling since sheltering in place, and those being homeschooled find it more challenging than parents, with 73 percent of Gen Z reporting compared to 65 percent of Gen X. Even though the majority of moms and dads report it to be challenging, moms are more than six times more likely to be responsible for the teaching than dads.
• Families are staying social -- virtually. The vast majority (87 percent) of families have been socializing virtually with friends and family who don’t live in the same household. And they’re socializing often -- with 34 percent socializing daily and 44 percent socializing once or twice per week. The most common platform for virtual socializing is text message (36 percent), followed by FaceTime (22 percent) and Zoom (14 percent).

Visit www.life360.com to learn more about Life360. The Life360 app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

*April 2020 survey of more than 2,300 Life360 users in the United States.

About Life360

Life360 operates a platform for today’s busy families, bringing them closer together by helping them better know, communicate with and protect the people they care about most. The company’s core offering, the Life360 mobile app, is a market leading app for families, with features that range from communications to driving safety and location sharing. Life360 is based in San Francisco and has more than 27 million MAU located in more than 140 countries.