Separation from friends and classmates, disrupted routines, online school, and canceled and postponed events. The Coronavirus has temporarily halted teens’ normal way of life. With in person interactions gone, “ Parents should be on the lookout for signs of anxiety and depression,” school psychologist Kathleen Slikker says.

“Isolation, emotional changes, trouble concentrating, and changes in sleep and eating habits are all signs of depression,” Slikker says.

Teens’ everyday life revolves around their peers.  They interact with each other at school, and in extracurricular activities.  Now teens have to interact with each other exclusively online, and even though it may seem like teens are always on their phones talking to friends, it’s just not the same.  

 Adolescence are more susceptible to depression and anxiety and this quarantine has only heightened those risks. Quarantine has caused most teenagers to feel lost and alone. Everything is changing with the rules of quarantine, and we don’t know when our lives are going to go back to normal. 

Teens across all ages also didn’t get to experience some of the milestone they’ve been looking forward to. From that softball game, to high school graduation, it was all gone. All of the hard work and dedication teens put in over the years lead up to what? Receiving your diploma in the car not surrounded by your friends. 

“Even now with some schools and sports opening back up, it’s not going to be the same. Sporting events are still up in the air along with other events that make high school so memorable.”