Quarantine and the Teenage Brain
Story by Presley Frank, Artwork by Mallika Sunder.
The isolation and extreme exposure to social media that quarantine brought had a massive effect on teen mental health and still does. Maintaining a healthy social life is a huge part of growing up and connecting with others, bhe pandemic has put a barrier between teens and their social life. It has also created a mass exposure to social media, which in any case means more exposure to toxic social media. Although quarantining has been necessary to not contract Covid-19, it has been a huge problem as far as mental health is concerned.
Although social media can be useful and fun, it can also be extremely harmful, especially to young and impressionable teenagers. A survey was conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health where they spoke to teens ages 12-14, which showed, “Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image and loneliness.” Social media is the root of many harmful issues currently affecting teens, and now with higher usage, it is becoming increasingly problematic. There has also been a lot less supervision during the pandemic on devices because they were being used at higher rates. Many younger children are downloading apps that are not for their age group because of the lack of things to do in these times of isolation. Social media also talks about, and shows things, that are inappropriate for younger ages on the apps.
Mental health is often dismissed as “not a big deal” especially in teens. It is viewed as something that just occurs at that age which, concerningly, is starting to become true. Having depression and anxiety should not be normal among teens. The issue of mental health has become a more talked about issue over the years, but recently the pandemic has caused a huge spike in mental health issues among teens. It has become crucial in these times that adults are paying attention to, and caring about teens. Without this increased supervision and support this issue could become a lot worse than it already is.
The isolation that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused has been detrimental to teenage mental health. Ann Murphy, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling states that, “Adolescents rely heavily on connections with their peers. It’s an important part of their development … We know that social isolation and loneliness is linked with poorer mental health and higher rates of depression and anxiety.” The pandemic is causing lessened social activity, and the little that there is, occurs via online communication. It is extremely unhealthy for teens to be removed from in-person contact within their social lives, and have little to no communication outside of their home.
Teenagers have had so much taken from them during this pandemic which is causing a mass mental health crisis. I urge you to do what you can to support others and yourself. Find ways to connect with others in safe and comforting ways, and if you are ever in need of mental health support, never hesitate to talk to those around you.
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
