Although severe cases of COVID-19 mainly affect the elderly and immunocompromised physically, young people have been challenged emotionally and mentally in the past two years. High schoolers ranging from freshmen to graduating seniors had shared and varying experiences. While all tried their best to adapt to a new normal of remote learning, each individual dealt with the sudden and unexpected changes differently based on their situations.
Quarantine restrictions forced schools across the country to shift to remote learning. “No one was prepared, not even my teachers. Classes felt more like recorded videos. I felt alone while learning everything because I was just reading and doing assignments all day,” said an Asian American teen in Connecticut.. Without the ability to see their friends and teachers in school, high-school teens suddenly found themselves staring at computer screens all day. Attending classes virtually led to feelings of social isolation, increased general anxiety, and limited educational support by teachers outside of scheduled class hours. A September 2020 poll found that 59% of teenagers considered online school worse than in-person instruction, with 19% describing it as “much worse.”
Some students felt remote learning made them run behind in subjects and planned curriculums. Class didn’t seem as productive and engaging, and some middle-schoolers starting their freshman year felt unprepared. “I’m a freshman this year, but straight out of my middle school years with remote and hybrid learning, I felt very behind,” said one Asian American student living in MA.
The US heavily relied on technology during the pandemic. In addition to online learning, teenagers used their devices to keep up with friends and family, attend virtual health appointments, and, most of all, recreationally to stream videos, play video games, and other forms of entertainment. With this has also come a rise in mental health concerns in teenagers. Social media use went up 39% in youth nationwide. Although widely used as a coping mechanism, social media also contributed to the stress on teens. Social media offers both places of comfort and support in shared experiences, but also toxic environments of hate and shame. Over 70% of LGTQ+ and over 60% of POC teens reported feeling affected by hate speech on social media platforms, and young girls also experienced a 30% increase in dissatisfaction with their bodies and weight. “It was like an escape but also a trap. I felt drained, so I went to social media. But it just led me back to that feeling, so the cycle continued.” said a Korean-American junior living in New York.
“It was like an escape but also a trap. I felt drained, so I went to social media. But it just led me back to that feeling, so the cycle continued.”
The pandemic exacerbated xenophobia and bigotry toward Asian American and Pacific Island communities. Anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 169% in 15 major US cities between 2020-2021. A few Vietnamese American students tested positive for COVID-19 in a 1000 person Everett, MA school and felt the disdain firsthand. A minority of 5% at the school, the Asian American students sensed judgment and fear from others. “It was bad enough with the Asian hate movement going on, but then people felt like it was some kind of ‘proof’ that Asians did actually spread COVID when a few of my friends tested positive.” shared a Vietnamese-American freshman from Everett, MA.
On the opposite spectrum, graduating seniors had a challenging year socially and felt as though they missed out on traditions such as prom and graduation. Many had to transition from high school to a college environment in a purely virtual setting. Even the already stressful college admissions process was made more difficult given changes to standardizing testing and restrictions in visiting colleges. With an unbalanced ratio of college counselors to students, many teens felt their virtual college counselors were impersonal and not helpful.
Juniors seeing their seniors have such stark isolated experiences are fearful of their senior year. Though most students have returned back to school and in-person classes, some feel it still won’t be possible for them to go on college campus visits and it’s uncertain if they will be able to have their celebrations prior to finishing high school. Some also feel that lifting the indoor mask mandates at school might be a ‘step back’ from the progress schools have made in preventing cases and that it might be too soon. Physical health and safety remain a concern for students who sit in close proximity in classrooms daily.
COVID-19 continues to have a huge impact on everyone’s life and depression rates have doubled in youth. For some, a sense of security has been threatened. Others lost the motivation and support needed to succeed in school or in their personal lives. Some are grieving and coping with the loss of a parent, friend, or loved one as a result of COVID-19.
Only time will tell the long-term impacts on today’s youth. The physical, emotional, and mental health toll on children and teenagers is yet to be determined by research.
SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England, acting as a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.
