The Pandemic's affect on students

How is the Pandemic Affecting Teens?
Posted on 01/11/2021
Photo of an empty quad on a foggy day at EFHS

 

 

 

 

by Mia Ross

How are you doing?”

“Good.”

This is a common exchange between peers.  How much truth is in that statement?  More specifically, how are teens really doing during this ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic?  Everyone is stressed from the pandemic; but what is this stress to a soon-to-be adult?  The upcoming generation is going to spend the last years of childhood in a pandemic. 

Anxiety and fear are common in times like this, but not everyone recovers easily.  The big problem is education.  Teachers have been amazing in their goals to give kids the best education available with the COVID guidelines.  Despite how well they have done, in-person contact is more of a necessity than most kids will admit.  Social media is a way to have social contact, but it can only go so far.  Teens are now more prone to anxiety than before because of this lack of in-person contact. 

In-person contact itself provides a stability that is grounding and assuring.  However, that is currently a problem.  For the safety of everyone, guidelines are important to follow if we want to limit the number of cases.  Debates about this only increase the stress on students’ performances regarding their grades.  Some don’t mind the virtual setting; others are challenged by it.  This leads to another fear.

Colleges have been changed to virtual, too, due to positive cases.  Education continues and there’s not a complete shutdown, but it hasn’t gotten any easier.  With the size of the new classes coming in, many are questioning how this will be managed alongside COVID-19.  Many teenagers gearing up for college or trade schools are worried about how long this will continue.  Once we get through winter, what will arrive in the spring?