Mental health dropping with teens following COVID-19

 Mental health dropping with teens following COVID-19

By Mylee Santos

JRN Staff Reporter

 

In high school, Madison Quenneville tried finding other interests during the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19. Boredom struck and nothing was able to fulfill the happiness that she had beforehand.

“COVID-19 was very difficult for me because I wasn’t able to see my friends as often as I normally did,” said Quenneville.

Now as a freshman in college, Quenneville said that going from seeing her friends every day, to not seeing them in person anymore, and only virtually, took a toll on her mental health.

“If there was no social media there would be mass confusion and hysteria,” said Quenneville.

Quenneville both negatively and positively uplifted the use of social media during the pandemic. Since no one was able to see each other in person, connecting through social media was the best and easiest way to do it. Seeing what her friends were up to, and keeping up with the new incoming trends, lifted her spirits during COVID-19.

There was a study held by the Pew Research Center, titled “Mental Health and the pandemic: What U.S. surveys have found.” This study showed that the use of social media began to skyrocket. It was reported that 3 in 10 (about 28%) parents were worried about their children using social media to the extent that it would increase anxiety and depression.

Quenneville felt that a lot of people were more entitled to send rude and hateful comments to people because of the barrier they had across the screen. Being that social media was one of the main reasons why people were experiencing mental health issues, was circled back to why parents felt social media was for the worse and not the better during COVID-19.

“They were quick to judge other people because they’re behind a screen,” said Quenneville.

Speaking with Doctor Nester, a Stonehill College psychology professor who also works for the Boston Children’s Hospital, she provided crucial insight. Nester gave more information about her experiences working with adolescents’ mental stability after COVID-19.

“If you were in a good mood, social media was usually good, but if you were in a bad mood, it typically led to bad things,” said Nester.

Nester said that if you were using social media the right way during COVID-19 it would most likely boost your happiness. Consequently, there were times when people were in a bad mood they would turn to social media in a harmful, or hateful, way. Social media created a warped sense of reality, being that it was one of the only outlets to see what people were up to.

“Facial cues with masks now affect how children react with others,” said Quenneville.

Quenneville said that her younger siblings were also majorly affected by the pandemic. Without them going to school and only being there virtually, they weren’t able to grasp the certain verbal communication that they would in school, and around others. Especially kids who were struggling with speech issues.

“It was discouraging to keep up with school work; I felt like there was no progress or importance. School lacked structure and I felt like I was not being challenged the way I was prior,” said Quenneville.

The changing events of schoolwork from being there in person to virtually, affected how Quenneville felt about the challenges of her academics during the pandemic. She noticed this not only with herself but with other kids as well.

“Teachers would say ‘You’re COVID kids you don’t know how to socialize,’” said Quenneville.

Quenneville said that as kids returned to school it was noticeable to teachers that there was a certain disconnect. Especially because COVID-19 took away one of the biggest opportunities for students to learn and grow. Learning different manners and common gestures are the main things that adolescents get when being in school. This then led to mental health concerns because of insecurities about not being on the same level as other kids.

According to the study, of students in high school who had bad mental health during the pandemic, it demonstrated that 57% of girls, to 31% of boys felt sad and/or hopeless during the pandemic. As well as more than a third of high school students overall have acquired mental health challenges during COVID-19.

“Teens were really struggling before COVID; it’s not like mental health struggles are new,” said Nester.

Nester said that struggling with mental health was something that a lot of teens deal with throughout their lives, so it isn’t typically a new phenomenon. But the more surprising fact of the matter was how much it had increased since the pandemic. It now shows how more aware we are of mental health issues around the country.

“Beds were all taken; it was hard to get a room for adolescence,” said Nester.

With more children being taken to the hospital for mental health issues, it also clashed with the uprising number of patients that needed assistance because of COVID-19.

“Depression for females usually was always higher,” said Nester.

Even before COVID-19, depression for females was higher than it was for males, so the statistic wasn’t very unusual to see for Nester. The skyrocketing numbers of females being diagnosed with mental health issues, after 2020, is what additionally struck doctors and researchers.

The study showed how COVID-19 presented a lot of intake on mental health issues throughout the United States, especially among teens. Knowing the effects of COVID-19 on mental health, the question comes up about how it’s going to affect people in the long run.

“It’s too early to tell long term if the effects of COVID have a larger impact on mental health in the future,” said Nester.

COVID-19 had a crucial impact on people's interactions but mainly on the newer generation. Researchers are just recently collecting data from the pandemic, and because of the relevance of COVID-19, it’s hard to decide what the long-term effects are going to be. Nester said that these beginning effects could either lead to bigger issues in the future or eventually fade away. But it isn’t something that won't continue to be constantly researched.