Citation:
Goldberg, Emma. “Teens in Covid Isolation: ‘I Felt like I Was Suffocating’.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Nov. 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/health/covid-teenagers-mental-health.html
Supporting Details:
- In Goldberg’s article, teenagers used phrases such as “trapped” and “suffocated” to describe their feelings during the time the pandemic began. Some said they couldn’t find ways to have fun again due to the distance from their friends.
- The COVID-19 pandemic had interrupted many young people’s lives. Many teens have lost track of their sleeping schedules and developed sleeping problems.
- Isolation became a huge part of COVID but also affects teens negatively. Many teenagers now find it really hard to interact with their teachers and to connect to their school community due to the distance.
Summary:
As Emma Goldberg delineates in “Teens in Covid Isolation:’I Felt like I Was Suffocating’.” The teenagers in Goldberg’s article specify the struggles that affected them most during the pandemic. As well as the actions are taken. Many had mentioned repeatedly they have experienced depression and anxiety due to the large amount of social isolation involved in the pandemic. One of the teenagers named Aya indicated in her narrative “A lot of adults assume that teens have it easy, but it’s hitting us the hardest,”. The unhappiness we experience and depression that’s being led on has caused many teens to make dreadful decisions such as harming themselves, notable weight loss, use of alcohol or drugs, and major changes in mood. The COVID- 19 pandemic had become punishing to us teens. Numerous teenagers lost consciousness of their sleep schedules. This difficulty allowed teenagers to develop sleep problems.
Reflection:
In this article, the teenagers made me feel entirely connected to their stories and experience. During COVID-19 I rarely slept an entire 8 hours, I was depressed, anxious, and felt completely in the dark from my school community and peers. As I read the teenager’s stories, it made me realize I wasn’t alone. I believe their audience feels the same. Goldberg elaborates on Aya’s ability to be able to reconstruct herself and her habits after the pandemic. “As the months wear on, Aya is rebuilding healthy habits — spending time with friends outside, getting to sleep at a reasonable hour so she can feel energized for school. She has started meditating and listening to indie rock songs to calm her nerves. But she still wrestles with the amount of time she spends alone in her thoughts.”She found a solution for herself which was a battle many of us couldn’t fight at the moment. All I can remember is how hard I beat myself up for not having the energy to pick myself back up. I’d try to tell myself, that maybe I have to do things differently in order to have the strength. It took more than just that. I barely ate at times which caused me to lose so much weight.  Other young adults over-fed themselves as well. The point being is that Goldberg wanted a way to connect with her audience and in my opinion, she immediately hooked me. By the audience, I don’t just mean teenagers but those who read The  New York Times, who also have experienced the same difficulties during the pandemic. Many of us teenagers have gone through very rough moments through this pandemic such as family loss, developing server depression, anxiety, and many more problems. And so have many others.
Notable Quotables:
“Everything is stagnant now,” said Ayden Hufford, 15, a high school sophomore in Rye, a suburban area north of New York City, whose school now has blended in-person and remote learning. “There’s nothing to look forward to. On virtual days I sit on the computer for three hours, eat lunch, walk around a bit, sit for three hours, then end my day. It’s all just a cycle.”
“I laid down with my camera off and waited for it to be over,” he said. “It’s sad and somewhat lonely.” And he added that forming new connections with classmates is nearly impossible in a virtual setting: “Unless you try extremely hard, there’s no chance to make new friends this year.”
“I felt like I was trapped in my own little house and everyone was far away,” Aya, 14, said. “When you’re with friends, you’re completely distracted and you don’t think about the bad stuff going on. During the beginning of quarantine, I was so alone. All the sad things I used to brush off, I realized I couldn’t brush them off anymore.”
