Pernod Ricard survey reveals more South Africans are becoming less convivial
Leading premium spirits distributor Pernod Ricard has partnered with OpinionWay to find out how convivial the world is. To put together this survey, the distributor of brands such as Absolut Vodka, Jameson Whiskey, Beefeater Gin and GH Mumm Champagne, long dubbed as the ‘Creators of Conviviality’ went to 11 countries on five continents including South Africa to interview nearly 11 500 people. Its findings revealed that now more than ever, conviviality or friendliness is on the decline around the world. These results prompted Pernod Ricard to launch its new 360° corporate campaign, Be A Convivialist.
South Africans agreed with the overall sentiment of the survey, as 71 per cent of the 1008 surveyed South African participants felt that conviviality was waning in the country. When asked what conviviality meant to them, 90 per cent of South Africans felt that it was about moments of happiness. In staying true to South African culture, 81 per cent felt conviviality was about sharing a meal or drink, this was further reinforced by the 62 per cent who said sharing a meal at home was their top activity for social gathering compared to the world average of 51 per cent.
More interesting is the link between social media,the internet, and people opting to stay at home more. The result is that social interaction has also taken a dip. As many as 62 per cent of South Africans feel that their relationships with their friends are becoming more superficial because of social media and only 54 per cent of them have met half of their Facebook friends in real life. With digitisation on the rise, South Africans feel that it is a threat to their friendships, 72 per cent of South Africans felt that they meet up with their friends less and 85 per cent of them admit to having stayed at home to stream a movie instead of going out.
On a global scale, some of the information collected from countries such as France, Mexico, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil and the UK; these were some of the key takeouts:
• 91 per cent of those surveyed believe conviviality to be a source of well-being,
• 61 per cent of them believe the world is less friendly than five years ago.
• Most pessimistic are the French at 82 per cent, followed by Germans at 73 per cent.
• More alarming, 67 per cent of Millenials (18-34 years) regret meeting their friends less and less, due to social networks.
• Today’s champions of conviviality are Mexicans, followed in the Top Five by Spain, Brazil, China and India.