From the closure of schools to heightened media coverage, COVID-19 posed an even greater threat to the mental health of youths and the need to get a maximum amount of rest. We are more connected than ever before, showing how a public health threat can extend further than their point of origin. The nonstop daily media exposure during a global pandemic does not help in the endeavor to give an accurate depiction of how bad it might get. An example is the pandemic of the Ebola Virus and how it was quite low during the 2014 outbreak. A sample was taken during that time from the US population that showed frequent media exposure causes more stress and impaired functioning (Thompson). Due to the fear of uncertainty, youths always have questions such as “When is the quarantine over?” or “When can we go back to school?”. These are called existential fear. Existentialism is the philosophy created to highlight the effects of citizens during World War II (Bramann). It explains that individuals have a unique freedom to determine his or her behavior. During that time, it was helpful in the development back to a non-hostile society. However, the feeling during the pandemic is different in the younger generation as isolation and the unknown creates existential fear. This in turn deprives them of passion as they no longer see a future where they can succeed. If they are not pursuing anything they deem worthy, this will cause them not to do anything. Doctor Diana says ‘When you’re lacking any sort of physical activity, and your body spends most of its time in the same position, whether that be sitting or lying down for long periods of time, its ability to take in oxygen decreases and you will notice a huge drop in energy levels and motivation,’(Morris). The youths need active stimulus to give them a new perspective on their own future and the solution would be to try something new. They need to see that by focusing on their future, they can not only improve on themselves but distract themselves from quarantine. This is one of many possible solutions to staying calm and focused during the pandemic. However, others have opened many of the same discussions about potential fixes.
Many people have said the solution for depression and sleep deprivation is to let them reopen public places. This would include reopening schools for all students while the pandemic is still going on. President Donald Trump wants to reopen schools in the fall. He and Secretary Betsy DeVos have threatened to withhold school fundings if the schools are not opened (Kumar and Gaudiano). During a white house briefing, Devos stated that “... kids need to be back in school and school leaders across the country need to be making plans,”. She also adds that the CDC never recommended schools close down in response to the pandemic (Voytko). As much as education and reintegration are important for the lives of our young generation, using threats and forcing a switchback will only cause more stress and anxiety for youths. As stated above, stress and anxiety likely cause sleep deprivation. California Governor Newsom indicated that we need to first get familiar with the current situation and make sure we can safely transition to a better future (Gardiner). While he may have downplayed parts of the reopening situation, he also cautioned about safety concerns to the public. By allowing youths to slowly integrate back, we will minimize stress by ensuring the lives of everyone resulting in better sleep quality. Although the changes are minimal, the effects in total will guide youths back to a routine and further push away the effects of the disruption.
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