With COVID-19 shutdowns coming back into play, social activities are being put on hold as well. Restaurants have closed inside dining, movie theaters are temporarily shut down, and stores are reducing capacity and heavily enforcing the wearing of masks. All of these social activities that teens do on weekends or after school are no longer available to them. Not only is it affecting social lives, but it is also influencing people’s mental health. 

Junior Demetrius Sirio is one of the teenagers who is struggling to cope with the shut downs. “It’s hard not being able to do normal stuff that you’re able to with friends. I haven’t gone out as much and I haven’t been able to see my friends near as much since this whole thing started. It really sucks for us and I think that the whole thing is really starting to take a toll on everyone’s mental health,” said Sirio.

Another thing being affected by the COVID shutdowns is in person learning. With students doing online full-time, many are struggling to find the motivation to do the work at home, and grades are being majorly impacted by this. Some students don’t learn well at home, with not as much one on one help and physical demonstration of subjects. 

Junior AJ Day is a student who is struggling with learning online. “It’s not easy to stay motivated at home, with all the distractions around you. Sometimes I lose focus in class with everything going on around me at home. It’s also harder to get the help I need and I learn way better in school, being able to see what’s going on and getting physical help. Your own house just really isn’t meant to be a learning environment for school,” said Day.