Youth on Coronavirus-what the teens of today thing of Covid-19

This is a very challenging and uncertain time for all of us, especially those young people like teenagers. They have never experienced anything like this so the questions will be buzzing around their brain, In this report, I’m going to be telling you what the youth think of Coronavirus and the affects its having on them and their families.

To begin to understand their views I created a survey with lots of different intriguing questions on it. For example, “Has it affected anyone in your family or in your home?” “What is your opinion on Coronavirus?” and many others. (Here is the access code: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PLC9G5G) The survey produced 15 results from teens aged 12 to 17 from all around the world. The answers were mixed but there were some evident shared opinions among them.

One of these were from the question stating, “Do you like working from home or would you prefer to go back to school?” Just over half of the young people answered they preferred working from home; “I prefer to work from home because it is easier to concentrate and work at your own pace…” Although many acknowledged the pros as well as the cons of working from home; “There are advantages and disadvantages. I think it is nice that you can work in a homely environment and I don't get distracted as easily, however I receive a lot more work at home and sometimes it takes me longer than the school day.” 3 of the 11 said they missed their friends and would prefer to see them in person than just on face time; “I can face time my friends but I would prefer to see them in person.”

This seems to be the most common issue for the young people of today. They miss their friends and are looking forward to seeing them again. This is especially highlighted in the question “Are you looking forward to coming out of lockdown?” One answer was “I am really missing my friends and can't wait to come out so I can hug them all!!”

The most interesting question on the survey for me was “What is your opinion on coronavirus?” The answers were really mature, and I think they have proved to a lot of adults that have the mindset that teens don’t know or think about these things, that they do, and they understand. and it was fascinating to see what the young people of today have gathered from their parents, the media, their friends etc. Lots realised the danger of Covid-19; “…this is a really serious and contagious virus.” “I think that it is very scary and serious because people are dying.” Some had opinions about what was being done, saying things like “Shutting down schools was a good choice.” One teen even gave their opinion on how well they thought the government was coping: “I think that the government is doing a good job at making people aware of the corona virus and I am not too worried about it. I think that schools should have shut down since this is a global problem and that it is helpful to stop children gathering who could possibly spread it on to an elderly person e.g. grandparents.” Interestingly, 5 of the 11 responses mentioned something about the media’s influence. Some said the media is making a big deal; “The media is making it worse than it sounds in my opinion.” Whist others said the media is doing the opposite; “I don't think the media are making a big deal…”

I also live interviewed a couple of teens (at 2 metres distance of course) and the responses were excellent! The were both asked what they thought were the positive effects of coronavirus was. One said “it kind of helps with the pension because with older people, there’s not so many to look after moneywise! I think we all understand the value of the time that we have, and we have so much time now, all that time before, we should have taken advantage of it.” It was a really insightful interview. They were also asked what they think the negative effects of covid-19 are; “I’m bored, I can’t see people, I’m missing people, Chinese’s are shut and I can’t get a take away and it can kill someone if they get it.” A few excellent points that some of us may be forgetting.

So, whilst these young teens are thinking these things, what are they actually getting up to? Well, there were some good answers in the survey, answers like “going out on my bike.” “My family and I go on an hour walk every day in the evening which is nice because we get to chat. Adding to this I love to play with my bunnies.” “I play football, xbox and watch TV.” Its evident that these teens are taking advantage of our time now, like the young person mentioned in their live interview earlier.

Finally, one of our teens mentioned a point that I think many shares; when they were asked in their live interview what they thought when they heard that schools were closing. This was their answer: “At the time I felt very happy, I felt quite excited to not have to come to school, to be able to do things when I wanted to, but as times gone on I have much regretted that thought as I’ve now wanted to have a timetable, something to work off, something to follow.” I believe, from the people I have talked to and from the things that I have told, that this young person has captured what so many are feeling. So many were so excited to leave school behind for a while, but now so many are desperate to get back.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have anything you think could be altered or anything you liked, please head over to the forum on this article, thank you :)