First, the COVID-19 pandemic took us all by surprise. Then, it managed to get into all spheres of our lives and change the way we interact, socialize, work, shop, and have fun. No one was left out, and people’s lives have changed drastically. It was no different for students.
COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected and changed students’ lives. Here’s what the global pandemic meant for students all over the globe.
Table of Contents
1. Mental Health Issues
It hasn’t been easy for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest change in their daily routine and the most inconvenient part of the story was the lack of socializing.
With schools going remote and lockdown being enforced, students suddenly lost the connection to their friends, colleagues, and even family. With such sudden isolation, many students experienced mental health problems such as:
- anxiety and stress
- depression
- feeling of seclusion
- fear of the unknown
Even now that the pandemic is losing momentum, some students still struggle with social isolation consequences. Mental health has become a serious problem for so many students.
2. Lack of Support
It’s one thing to attend school life and be immersed with your peers and professors. But, it’s a whole other story to study remotely and be on your own, in your room.
With the lack of live contact, students also felt a lack of support in their academic journey. They needed to find other ways of thriving academically.
They hired tutors, took additional online courses, or found online resources that could help. For instance, they learned they can pay for essay online and use the extra time to study for an exam. The whole concept of gaining education changed, and imposed new challenges on the students.
3. Lack of Physical Activity
During the pandemic, students were forced to focus their entire daily routine inside their homes. From online classes to grocery shopping, they were able to do it all from their computers.
This led to a significant decrease in the number of physically active students, who were unable to experience the benefits of exercising regularly.
While some students managed to find motivation and exercise at home, so many others have simply given up physical activity. This further affected their mental health.
4. Social Awareness
The one positive thing that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the increased social awareness among students. Students finally realized just how important it is to:
- take care of the environment
- strengthen the community
- stay united
- help those in need
Many student organizations focused their attention and efforts on helping those affected by COVID-19 and had so much work to do. Students started to volunteer more and be involved in the events taking place in their local community or school.
Hopefully, even once the pandemic is behind us, this awareness will remain strong and will motivate students to keep making positive changes.
5. More Time Online
Less time spent outside the home means more time spent on social media and online. Students have increased the average time spent online, compared to the year before COVID.
However, for some students this meant changing how they spend time online and seizing different opportunities:
- freelancing
- networking
- taking online courses
- attending online workshops
- reaching out to old friends
- taking online tours
Students who spent their extra online time wisely are happy they had the chance to acquire new skills or make new friends. Now, they appreciate their free time more and focus on doing all the things they couldn’t during the lockdown.
6. Lack of Motivation
Finally, one of the biggest changes seen among young students is the lack of motivation to reach for their academic or personal goals. Students simply lost the will to do more and achieve more, since the whole world was in such a strange place.
This lack of motivation needs to be considered by educators and educational institutions, who are now facing the task of getting the students back on the horse.
Final Thoughts
Students life was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some changes were negative while others helped them thrive.
But, one thing is clear- the pandemic changed the way they perceive life, and it is impossible to go back to the way things were before it happened.
Author’s Bio:
Elizabeth Baldridge is a psychologist and a blogger. She covers a wide scope of topics- from mental health preservation to challenges of modern-day living. She aims to help her readers overcome their daily struggles and wake up every morning ready to conquer the day.
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