RAB Source Entry #2 — Asghar Ali Khan

Part 1: MLA citation

Medina, Eduardo. “How Young People’s Social Anxiety Has Worsened in the Pandemic.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/us/social-anxiety-pandemic.html.

Graphic Organizer

Main Idea: Covid-19 Pandemic was destroying thousands of young people socialization.

Supporting Detail:   “As we start to socialize more, we’re going to probably see greater rates of social anxiety than there were before the pandemic,” said Paula Yanes-Lukin, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Supporting Detail:  In-person schooling has made isolating more difficult, but students’ anxiety about returning to classes could be more prevalent because of “social phobias” spawned by the pandemic, according to a study from The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Supporting Detail:  Young people, typically defined as those ages 13 to 25, do not have fully developed frontal lobes of the brain, which exacerbates their anxiety symptoms, said Dr. Leela Magavi, a psychiatrist in Newport Beach, Calif.

Part 2 – Summary

In “How Young People’s Social Anxiety Has Worsened in the Pandemic.” Eduardo Medina dictates that  “As we start to socialize more, we’re going to probably see greater rates of social anxiety than there were before the pandemic,” said Paula Yanes-Lukin, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. In-person schooling has made isolating more difficult, but students’ anxiety about returning to classes could be more prevalent because of “social phobias” spawned by the pandemic, according to a study from The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Young people, typically defined as those ages 13 to 25, do not have fully developed frontal lobes of the brain, which exacerbates their anxiety symptoms, said Dr. Leela Magavi, a psychiatrist in Newport Beach, Calif.

Part 3 – Reflection

I agree A degree of collective social anxiety became the norm during the pandemic. Rates of social anxiety disorder, school refusal, and agoraphobia increased because of the simple fact that people were isolated and avoided social contact for so long. If you were already living with social anxiety before the pandemic began, you might have welcomed the opportunity to hide away in a cocoon of privacy where you didn’t have any pressure to talk to strangers, attend social gatherings, or make small talk at the water cooler. Afterward, you may have felt no hurry to get back to your old life and want to continue enjoying your haven. It might be hard to flip the switch in your mind from “avoid everyone” to “go back to socializing.” This can be especially true as vaccines rollout but not everyone has yet been vaccinated. How do you know how to behave around other people? Are they still social distancing or do they want a handshake from you?

Part 4 – Notable Quotable

“As we start to socialize more, we’re going to probably see greater rates of social anxiety than there were before the pandemic,”

“But then when we were out, I was feeling really nervous and anxious, and I felt like everyone was staring at me,”

“I was alone throughout the pandemic, and I think that feeling of loneliness followed me, despite being able to go out again,”