The Impact of COVID-19 on the Youth
- Nicole H
- Jun 20, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2021
Written by: Nicole Ho S.W
Edited by: Rishik Bedi and Karyn Sethi
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 had been recognized as a wide-spreading virus during the beginning of 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO), announced that the virus outbreak was titled a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on the 30th of January, 2020. Soon after, everyone was asked to stay home and the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, forcing the world to go into quarantine on 11th March, 2020.
People affected by COVID-19
Many have discussed the impacts of COVID-19 on those facing poverty, those struggling financially and those losing jobs, families and friends because of this. One often ignored impact is that children and teenagers miss out on so many months of what are the golden years of their lives.
Statistics on the Impact of COVID-19
Individuals often talk about teenagers’ grades and how they’re performing in school, but rarely do they talk about the mental well being of these teenagers- specifically how they are coping with the pandemic. Teenagers should be living their lives, being free, full of independence. They should be socializing with their peers, as well as making new friends along the way. Prior to COVID-19, many would go on vacations with their families, or have sleepovers with their friends. It is truly sad to see all of these moments get stripped away from a person, as their prime time passes by.
Teenagers have missed out on countless months of fun that they are meant to experience by socializing and living their lives. Instead, they find themselves locked in their homes indefinitely, all around the globe. The pandemic has made many teenagers feel isolated and alone in their homes, even when they are with their families, similar to feeling lonely in a crowd. This has led to a spike in mental health problems such as depression and anxiety in not just teenagers, but individuals of all ages. Not just this, the pandemic has made many teenagers lazy, with them falling into a loop of unproductivity as they fail to achieve their goals and perform worse in their school.
An investigation carried out by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital through the National Poll on Children’s Health at Michigan Medicine showed that as much as 46% parents said that their teenager had shown signs of a new or worsening mental health condition since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
Additionally, the same hospital had conducted a study, which concluded that the mental health effects of the pandemic are more likely to have a significant impact on teenagers.
Another poll was made that observed responses based on 977 parents of teenagers between the age of 13 and 18. It was later summarized that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys had experienced new or worsening anxiety during the pandemic and COVID-19 situation.
Longer term Impacts
Children and teenagers have missed out on years of hanging out with their friends- a crucial step in the development of their socializing skills with the world. By the time the pandemic is over and things return to normal, everyone will be 2 or 3 years older. Many teenagers would have graduated from school, with some going to live in a new country as they attend a university with new peers and professors. The several years of isolation from the world will make it very likely that these teenagers will have difficulty in interacting with their peers, and will possibly have completely different personalities from when they entered the pandemic situation. This is not just limited to their university entrances, because such a pandemic will have permanently scarred many, and they will face difficulty with interaction throughout their personal & professional lives.
Graduation excitement drops
Millions of teenagers around the world look forward to graduating and going to their graduation ceremony as their peers, families and teachers come together to celebrate the completion of their school life and entry to a new chapter in their life. However, since the pandemic has hit, most graduations have been held online in front of computer screens. Online ceremonies have greatly decreased the morale of teenagers, as they feel that all their efforts in completing their high school years were in vain, making them unwilling and reluctant to celebrate it in such a way. The true feeling of freedom and happiness fades away, and it is no longer something they look forward to celebrating. Some schools that have held graduation ceremonies in real life are forced to take extreme restrictions to prevent the spreading of the virus, resulting in half-ended ceremonies done just for show, making no one happy.
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the youth immensely by keeping them from accomplishing their goals as they become inefficient, restricting them from having the bits of socialization that they need, and cancelling important events in their life, such as graduations, birthdays, and other celebrations. It’s important to realize that everyone only gets a few years of their life as a teenager. Time flies, and waits for no one. This does not mean that teenagers now should be with their friends, and not take necessary precautions, but it is simply a reminder to be grateful and not take anything for granted. To have the opportunity of living teenage hood taken away from you and facing the loss of loved ones at such a young age is extremely sad and can be mentally scarring, but it is the harsh reality of life.
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yay nicole!! <33 this is very well written😍