COVID-19:

On January 18th 2020, the CDC recorded the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States, found in Washington state. Now, two years later, the United States has seen over 850,000 COVID-related deaths, with the numbers still climbing. In the span of two years, this amounts to two deaths every two and a half minutes—and that’s just in the United States. This monumental loss has been devastating and hard to comprehend. 

It’s near impossible to say what the lasting effects will be, or when the pandemic will even end, but it’s clear that there was and will be monumental changes.

Gen-Z was especially impacted, since most of this generation is still enrolled in school. Due to this online environment, Gen-Z reported higher levels of depression and anxiety, difficulty making and maintaining friends, and numerous academic problems.

According to Dr. Croa Breuner, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s hospital, children and teen’s brain development necessary for the growth of “complex mental skills needed to native daily life” has been limited (CNBC).  Due to isolation, environments like schools that would normally teach decision-making and coping skills have left Gen-Z behind.