October 27, 2020
(Rockville, MD) With the pandemic upending the Thanksgiving holiday this year, many Americans are turning to Zoom and other video conferencing platforms for their celebrations, according to results of a new national poll released today by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
The poll, conducted by YouGov, queried a nationally representative sample of 2,714 U.S. adults between October 16–20, 2020. Among Americans who have already settled on their holiday plans, nearly 1 in 4 (24%) say they will be using an online platform such as Zoom, Facetime, or Google Hangouts as part of their Thanksgiving celebration. Among families with children under 18, more than 4 in 10 (41%) say they will be using a virtual meeting platform for their gathering. With about a month to go until Thanksgiving, a full quarter of Americans have not yet decided if their holiday celebrations will include a virtual component.
“While ASHA generally encourages technology-free dinners, the pandemic has changed almost everything about our daily lives—and that includes necessitating the first Zoom Thanksgiving for many of us,” said Theresa H. Rodgers, MA, CCC-SLP, 2020 ASHA President. “As we all try to stay safe and healthy, we can use available technology in ways that enhance communication and connection.”
ASHA offers these 5 tips for a successful virtual Thanksgiving:
ASHA notes that while this will be the most high-tech Thanksgiving yet, that doesn’t mean Americans need to go overboard on device use at the holiday dinner table: “More technology isn’t necessarily better,” Rodgers noted. “Individual phones and tablets should ideally be stashed away for the meal so they don’t distract from the main gathering.”
For more information, visit ASHA’s Healthy Communication & Popular Technology Initiative at www.communicationandtech.org/.
Methodology:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,714 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 16th - 20th October 2020. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).
About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 211,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems, including swallowing disorders.