Uncertainty marks the perception of the future, according to research conducted by the Museum of Tomorrow during the new coronavirus pandemic.

By Davi Bonela and Ruy Cotia*

• Check the results of the research

For more than a thousand people from all over the country, the greatest hope is that the pandemic will serve as a wake-up call for building a more just world; the greatest fear is that new pandemics become more frequent.

The Museum of Tomorrow conducted a research with its visitors about their perception of the future from the new coronavirus pandemic. Over a thousand people from all over the country reflected on the lives of people, society and the environment until the next decade.

“The pandemic has changed the routine and way of life for billions of people around the world. This research shows that it brought fears and uncertainties, but also hopes, for its pedagogical character, capable of providing important lessons and learning from this difficult period.”, commented Alfredo Tolmasquim, diretor of Scientific Development and Education at the Museum of Tomorrow.

COVID-19 pandemic causes a lot of uncertainty about the future, especially among women and young people

According to the survey, 93% of the museum’s public feels informed about the new coronavirus pandemic. Among them, 18% feel overly informed. The main consequence of this excess of information is anxiety.

Participants are mainly informed by the traditional press, 71%. The other most cited sources of information are digital communicators specialized in health or science, 48%, international official organizations, 46%, and national official organizations, 42%.

Although these are sources of information that verify the reported news, the research shows that the new coronavirus pandemic has profoundly impacted people's degree of certainty about the future. Altogether, two out of three respondents say that although they are informed, they are very uncertain about the future. The data show that the people who feel most uncertain about the future are those who said they were poorly informed or overly informed.

Women feel more uncertain about the future than men. 44% of them recognize that they are very uncertain, while among men this rate is 25%. Among those who indicate they are uncertain about the future from the new coronavirus pandemic, young people between 16 and 24 years old stand out, 77% of them are uncertain about the future. 

There is also a large difference between men’s and women’s optimism about the future. While 24% of women say they are optimistic about the future, among men this percentage is 42%.

Hopes for a fairer world, fear of new pandemics.

The research also addressed public’s fears and hopes from the pandemic. 95% of respondents said that the pandemic caused at least one fear about the future. The main fear is that new viruses and pandemics will become more frequent. However, the most significant one is the fear that this pandemic will not cause any change in society. Among other fears mentioned are mass unemployment, economic crisis and the intensification of social inequalities.

The main hope for the future mentioned by the interviewees is that this period can make the society aware of the problems of this world, allowing reflections that collaborate to build a different and more just world. The other hopes cited were that the solidarity habits and the bonds of coexistence and union between human beings will be reinforced and that science and technology will be more valued.

Reducing inequalities should be a priority for governments and society by 2030

Research participants gave their opinion on which challenges, represented by the Sustainable Development Goals, should be a priority for governments and society by 2030. For the public, the main social priority must be reduction of social and economic inequalities (65%), followed by the provision of quality education for all (65%) and the provision of health and well-being for all (59%). Despite this, when asked about changes for the next 10 years, 69% of respondents do not expect that the reduction of inequalities will actually happen until the next decade.

The three challenges that should be a priority for governments and society by 2030 in relation to the environment were the provision of access to water and sanitation for all (64%), conservation and sustainable use of forests and other terrestrial biomes (56%) and provision of sustainable consumption and production patterns (39%).

Expectations regarding the situation of these challenges by 2030 indicate that only in the challenges of sustainable production and consumption and clean and affordable energy for all, does a majority believe that we will be closer to their solution in 2030, percentages of 53% and 50.2%, respectively. Regarding the access to water and sanitation for all, only 43% think that we will see some improvement over the next 10 years.

Pandemic and vision of the future

The research was conducted by the Museum of Tomorrow between May and June 2020 with the aim of analyzing the perception of Museum of Tomorrow public about the future from the new coronavirus pandemic, stimulating the participants' reflection on themes related to the lives of people, society and the environment connected to the Sustainable Development Goals. With qualitative and quantitative characteristics, it was composed of 40 open-ended or closed-ended questions, sent to the Museum's public by email and available for answer through Typeform. Due to public engagement, the survey presented a margin of error of 3%, with a confidence interval of 95%. The study was developed by the Research Coordination of the Museum of Tomorrow.



*By Davi Bonela, Research Coordinator, and Ruy Cotia, Audience Research Analyst at Museum of Tomorrow | IDG - Institute for Development and Management