The objective of this study was to investigate how students at Umeå University reflects upon their experiences of social university life in relation to subjective well-being. Two questions were formulated in order to investigate the study subject, these were; how does students at Umeå University experience the social university life and the alcohol culture within university life prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic?, and how do students at Umeå University describe their subjective well-being in relation to the social university life prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic? Interviews were conducted with six students at Umeå University regarding their reflections upon this subject. The interviews were conducted through videocalls, and the respondents were asked to answer 26 questions. The analysis has been conducted with theory of social representations, theory on ritual behavior and theory on subjective well-being. The results of the study show that the student identity is interconnected with a strong sense of community and solidarity, ambitions to study, freedom of being a student, the effect the university life has upon students and the social norms amongst university life, which is observed in the student´s social representations. The results show that the social university life prior to the pandemic was characterized by an active social life with lots of activities and a widespread alcohol culture. The student´s social representations are objectified in the social university life where they practice their student identities and they practice ritual behavior within the alcohol culture, including behaviors such as being festive and drinking a lot. The student´s subjective well-being is positively affected by the social university life and the alcohol culture within university life prior to the pandemic. The results further show that the student´s subjective well-being is negatively affected by the social university life and the alcohol culture within university life during the pandemic. University life during the pandemic is characterized by a less active social life with nearly no activities and a changed alcohol culture. The students describe how they long for the social university life they are used to since prior the pandemic. This study contributes with an understanding in how individual's behavior and subjective well-being is influenced by societal change.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-188500 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Meander, Alice, Mannelqvist, Alice |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Sociologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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