2020 feels slow, long, and far away: Time distortion due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID pandemic has been an unforeseen situation in which uncertainty, social distance, loss of stability, and significant changes have proven to have detrimental effects on people's well-being and on mental health. The aim of the present study is to determine changes in subjective time speed, duration, and time distance, and to consider the factors that may have contributed to this subjective distortion. A questionnaire was designed to explore time perception along with autobiographical recollection, mental and physical activity, and mood before, during, and after the pandemic. Analysis revealed that the pandemic period differed from before and after on every scale; subjects reported relatively lower values on autobiographical memory for the pandemic period; felt this time period to be further away, slower, and longer; were less active; and had a more negative mood. A structural equation model revealed that mood was the main predictor of subjective time distortion.