Since the outbreak of COVID19 in early 2020, public health and government officials have put social distancing rules in place and advised people to stay at home as much as possible. Many schools around the world started online learning.
Do teenagers have it easy being home all the time? Not necessarily. They can't connect with teachers and friends in person and do outdoor activities. They are even concerned about the deadly disease. These have caused a rise in anxiety among young people.
In a study of about 1, 500 teens last spring, 70% kids said that they were struggling with anxiety and 45% had felt more stressed than usual. Poncin, a professor of clinical child psychiatry (精神病学), said that it's difficult to show exactly what is causing the increased stress. Some factors focus on our communities and families, while others are individual (个别的). "There are many stress factors that teens are worried about, like their parents losing jobs, family members getting sick, parents not being home, not talking with friends, and more, " Poncin said. "Teens need to learn how to be together and how to talk and be with people. "
Thinking about something over and over also builds stress. To help ease (缓解) their worries, teens can bike, walk the dog or even pick up a new hobby.
In my home state of North Carolina, Roy Goode, head of the local educational agency, is especially concerned about students who don't have the resources they need to learn at home. "Today's students are tomorrow's leaders, " he said. "We need to make sure they all have a chance to succeed so we can overcome any challenge that comes our way. "