“Theater is all about sharing the character’s
stories with the audience, so it’s diffi cult when
there’s no one to share it with,” said Lauren.
“Adults have been focused on
work, the lockdown and dealing
with their jobs,” Sophia said. “But
I don’t know of anyone, any of
my friends who are not facing
depression and stress right now.”
The impact of the pandemic has been
particularly challenging for teenagers, who
rely on their friends to navigate the maze and
pressures of high school life.
Adolescents depend on developing
friendships to maintain a sense of self-worth
and to manage anxiety and depression.
A recent CDC study of 3,300 high school
students found that nearly one-third reported
feeling unhappy or depressed in recent
months. And although this is the generation
used to interacting with friends via texts,
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, more
than a quarter of those students said they did
not feel connected to teachers, classmates,
or their school community.
The duel crisis of the pandemic and
the economic downturn have imposed
additional hardships on students. Some
teens are having to get jobs to help support
the family, care for younger siblings and help
them with homework. Being stuck at home
makes it diffi cult if not impossible to connect
and lean on friends.
Experts say that these stressors can
intensify existing mental health issues in
teens and that we’re likely to see lots of
acting-out behavior during this pandemic.
34 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • May/June • 2021
Parents and healthcare professionals should
be on the lookout for warning signs of
depression and anxiety in teens.
In the United States, we have
schools that are completely
shuttered, while many private and
public schools have remained open.
With no unifying mandate as to how to
handle the COVID-19 pandemic, there has
been a huge disparity from state to state and
even county to county as to the protocols.
In Italy and Netherlands, youth psychiatric
wards have fi lled to record capacity. In
France where the pandemic toll on mental
health has made headlines, professionals
have urged the authorities to consider
reopening schools to fi ght loneliness. And
in Britain, some therapists said that they
had counseled patients to break lockdown
guidelines to cope.
Jason, a student from New York state
who calls himself an avid “theater kid,” was
looking forward to his school play this year,
even though it was changed to a virtual
performance. With live performances out of
the question now at his school, he turned to
a recent online meeting providing support
for performing arts students for inspiration. It
proved to be a disappointment because he
had trouble focusing and staying connected
with the Zoom conversation.
“I turned off my video feed and listened,
waiting for it to be over,” Jason said. “It’s
depressing and sad.”
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,” he said.
“This year is a whole new mindset,”
said Watkins-Yates.