Article A lost generation? The impact of COVID-19 on young people 27 Oct 2020 — 3 min read The Team Stephen Newton The economic damage caused by the UK government’s pandemic policy is clear to all, but the full effect that isolation and lockdown are having on young people is still to be determined. SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) warned last week that today’s young people are at risk of becoming a “lost generation”. At-home learning forces children’s social interactions online, with classes taught over computers, and friendship-forming happening through phones. Social interaction cannot be learnt digitally, and children’s increased exposure to screens since the COVID-19 outbreak has seen a 70% increase in cyber-bulling amongst children on social media. Such concerns also apply to younger children. A child’s most pivotal period of development occurs before the age of 5, and with mask-wearing in public spaces and classrooms likely for the foreseeable future, psychologists are expressing concern about what decreased exposure to human faces will do to young children’s ability to learn to read facial expressions and non-verbal cues. With teaching moving online and social interaction prohibited, students are ill-equipped to enter the job market waiting for them… On the older end of the youth spectrum, panic-driven lockdowns have transformed university from an experience that gives young adults independence into one of loneliness. University students across the country are confined to small flats, facing constant monitoring from hall staff and potential academic fines if caught breaking social distancing rules. Universities have historically warned students against relying on online resources, claiming that you cannot gain the same knowledge through an online forum as opposed to a physical one. Yet, fast-forward to today and universities insist that students are receiving the same calibre of education as before through online teaching; this is simply insincere and inconsistent messaging. University is the experience that can socially and intellectually educate young people to succeed in the world of work. With teaching moving online and social interaction prohibited, students are ill-equipped to enter the job market waiting for them: a market with youth unemployment set to hit 17% by the end of 2020, the highest level since the early 1980s. Any death from COVID-19, particularly that of a child, is a tragedy. However, the health risks posed by COVID-19 to healthy young people are effectively nil. A UK study published in the BMJ in August tracked 651 under-18s admitted to hospital with COVID-19 between January and July; 1% of those patients died, and the study concluded that it is incredibly rare for children to die from COVID-19. Children are also 40% less likely to be infected with COVID-19, with a recent study in Germany revealing that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the country did not increase when schools reopened after the summer holiday. Any death from COVID-19, particularly that of a child, is a tragedy. However, the health risks posed by COVID-19 to healthy young people are effectively nil. By contrast, there is significant evidence proving that lockdowns and isolation are having devastating effects on young people’s mental health and development: a recent study of young people aged 11-25 found a 161% increase in sleep issues, a 63% increase in loneliness, and a 27% increase in self-harm over lockdown. Lockdowns do not protect young people from COVID-19 because they are the group at the least medical risk; a mild COVID-19 case in a young person is better than the current state of youth mental health, or a child missing out on the most important developmental years of their life. When considering lockdowns and pandemic planning moving forward, governments need to move beyond just the immediate health of their citizens.