Post date: February 9, 2021 10:45 am
by Brooke Ingram
As the Coronavirus runs rampant there is another issue that is slowly destroying teens around the world. Mental health is not as discussed in the media as the virus itself but it needs to be addressed before more teens are lost. With endless lockdowns and isolation from the rest of the world, today’s teens are suffering with anxiety and depression more than any generation in the past.
There are many factors that contribute to teens’ current mental health battle. The ever changing school schedule has affected children more than one would think. For some students school was an escape from an unhealthy homelife and for others school provided a sense structure that is now absent. A majority of teens are missing vital social interaction with friends and extended family and oftentimes feel a sense of loneliness. Spending hours a day glued to a computer screen trying to keep up on assignments and being away from friends is taking its toll on students. A nation wide Gallup poll taken in June claims, “Nearly 3 in 10 parents said their child is experiencing emotional or mental harm because of social distancing and school closures.” This threat towards teens is real and could affect them in the long run. Without the much needed social interaction now as this generation grows up they will struggle more with face to face conversations and interactions with other people.
With all of the discussion of Coronavirus death tolls many teens have become more worried about the death of themselves or their loved ones and this has caused anxiety rates to drastically increase. According to the World Health Organization, as of September 2020, “10-20% of adolescents globally experience mental health conditions.” With little surprise these numbers have heightened since lockdowns started in March of 2020. The most common changes noticed in children were an increase of boredom, irritability, restlessness, nervousness, loneliness, uneasiness and worries, says the Psychiatric Times. These are problems that young children/adolescents should not be experiencing to this magnitude and this shows that COVID 19 is taking more than just a physical toll on people.
Teenage years are meant for having fun and living a worry free life but this pandemic is robbing this generation of the best years of their life. Children should not be having this much anxiety and depression. Some ways that these mental struggles can be managed amongst children and teens is by attempting to preserve any sense of normalcy in their lives. Getting back into their sports and slowly returning to school is one step closer to solving this mental health crisis.