Students Explain How the Lockdown Year Affected Their Lives
Being locked inside for a year led to less sleep, less exercise, and more loneliness, but also the opportunity to discover new talents.
By NATHALIE CAMACHO, MALAK ABDELRASOUL, NAFEESA ISLAM, NABEEL AHMED, ABDUL WAHIB, KEVIN ZHENG, and JACKSON WANG
With contributions by NYROBI PETERS and NILUFAR HALIMOVA
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Imagine this: you’re sitting with your friends in the lunchroom, viewing Snapchat stories about the D.O.E’s announcement that NYC’s public schools would be closed for two weeks. I mean, who wouldn’t be excited about that? Putting school on pause and staying home to sleep in instead of being on the B6 at 7 in the morning sounds pretty nice, right?
Well, two weeks of quarantine turned into a year of being stuck inside our homes, doing school virtually instead of in-person. This change had significant effects on students’ routines -- some good, some bad. In a survey of 274 Midwood students, the Argus asked teens about the changes they experienced during their “Covid year.” Here’s what we found.
Less Sleep and More Gaming, Streaming, and Social Media
Without face-to-face contact, more teens turned to social media to find connections.
One might think that doing schoolwork in the comfort of your own home would be relaxing, but when asked about how their daily routines were affected, 46.7% of students said that they are sleeping less now than before the pandemic.
“We were all going into online school thinking it would be easier,” sophomore Mia Vozenilek said. “But instead I’m staying up all night catching up on loads of homework and projects that I was procrastinating to complete.”
Lian Hao Zheng ‘22 said, “I found it much harder to control my time.” Henry Shi ‘22 started going to bed at 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. Alex Wang ‘22 said, “I used to go to sleep at 10 p.m. before the pandemic, but now I go to sleep at 12.”
There could be more to it than procrastination and online distractions. Studies have shown that greater exposure throughout the day to the blue light emitted from screens could result in increased alertness, causing sleep loss and fatigue.
Screen time was up for school purposes, but binge-watching also became relaxation therapy. Photo: Nathalie Camacho
With extra leisure time, many students spent more of their day on social media and streaming services. A whopping 71.2% of respondents said that they were using social media apps such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram more often, and 70.1% of students said they were using streaming services more.
“I've been watching Twitch a lot in between classes or even during classes, something I couldn't do if I was in school,” Julia Marie Evangelista, a junior, said.
Gustavo Chen Zhou ‘22 has been using Discord more “to stay in touch with friends since I can’t see them in person,” he said.
“I can see why many teens have been on social media more often,” senior Dennis Garcia said. “During the pandemic, I was not able to see any of my friends for a while, and using social media made me feel more connected with them during the rough time.”
Students like Ibrahim Abdelrasoul ‘24 used gaming as a way to stay in touch with friends. Photo: Malak Abdelrasoul.
Almost half of the students surveyed (43.4%) also said that they are playing video games more now than before quarantine, twice the amount who said they were playing them less. Like social media, gaming has been a way to stay in touch with others.
“I remember when we were all in quarantine, I would play video games all day with my friends online, mostly NBA 2K and Madden,” senior Joey Davis said. “I don’t play all day anymore, but I definitely play more than I used to since I made lots of new friends because of it.”
Evangelista said, “Before the pandemic, I was only playing video games on the weekends, but now I can play them whenever I'm free. During my lunch period, I play Steam games like Borderlands 2, or I can even try playing a TFT [Teamfight Tactics] match when I'm in a class.”
Ibrahim Abdelrasoul ‘24 said, “Gaming is my only way of staying in touch with my friends since I can’t see them at all.”
Meanwhile, Netflix and YouTube have become stress-relievers for many students.
“I actually never used to watch Netflix because I could never find the time,” junior James Rene said, “mostly because being on my school’s baseball team would keep me occupied. But since Covid stopped all high school sports, I’ve used my time to watch shows like American Horror Story and Criminal Minds.”
Rimaz Elmosbah ‘22 said, “I would spend hours on the screen, knowing it was unhealthy but still using it. I’m definitely using Netflix more during quarantine because when I had school, I didn’t have time and I would always be doing work, but now I get more free time to myself in my own sanctuary, watching my favorite shows that I never got to watch before.”
Less Exercise, More Loneliness
More than half of the students we surveyed said they are exercising less now than before the pandemic. The Public Schools Athletic League’s decision to stop all high school sports played a part in that.
“When school was in session, I was playing for my volleyball team,” junior Kate Wilson said. “At first, I missed playing and I couldn’t wait to go back. But honestly, later on, I just lost the motivation to continue and haven’t gone back to play since.”
It’s not just athletes. Elmosbah explained, “I have more free time now, but I’m less motivated to go to the gym or work out. During school, I would force myself to get up and go. Even if I didn’t go to the gym, I would still be walking and exercising, which made me more active.”
Evangelista said, “I do not typically go outside, or even get out of my room [during the pandemic], so I haven't been moving around a lot.”
Seventy-nine percent of teens said that lockdown had strained their mental health.
Zhou describes his current condition as “stick mode.” “I feel like I’m confined in my home,” he said, “and everyday life is about the same, repeating the same cycle.”
One concerning finding of our survey was that 52.2% of students are feeling lonelier than before quarantine, and 52.9% are feeling more depressed. Overall, 78.8% said that lockdown had been “hard on [their] mental health.”
A lot of this is due to reduced in-person social contact. Wilson said, “I used to go out with my [volleyball] teammates because I felt very comfortable with them, but I feel like we lost the connection we used to have.”
Naidelyn Ortiz ‘22 said, “To be honest, I haven’t been seeing any of my friends as much, and we lost touch. Sometimes we FaceTime, but it’s not the same.”
Aziza Yakhyaeva, a junior, said, “After a while, I realized I'd been spending so much time alone that it was damaging my mental health unconsciously. To break free from this cycle, I deleted all of my social media apps.”
Kamilah Ramirez ‘23 agreed. She experienced a “lack of socialization and motivation” during quarantine, though she also said she “developed a closer relationship with [her] family” and “learned to express [her] feelings.”
Neidjh Senatus ‘22 hasn’t been getting “enough sleep” and “can’t really focus in class,” she said. As her senior year approaches, she’s getting more and more “impatient and desperate” for school to open up so she can enjoy her final high school year to the fullest.
However, Most Students Found a Silver Lining, and Overall, Feelings Are Mixed.
Despite what adults may assume, many students did not just scroll through their Instagram feeds or binge random YouTube meme videos until dinner. The boredom and time stuck inside led to random new talents and artistic endeavors. Over half the students who took our survey said they had learned a new skill.
Sketches by Fairuz Shrabon ‘22, about to be colored.
“I was just bored at home, remembered I had a basketball, and decided to try to spin it, and now I’m really good at it,” said Nodirjon Abdunabiev, a junior. “I also bought a Rubik’s cube online and started solving that. I got really quick with it, like under a minute and a half.”
“I learned how to play the piano,” senior Isabella Kustka said. “My dad ordered it off of Amazon, and at first I thought it would be useless since nobody in the house plays the piano, but I actually enjoy playing it, and I still do to this day.”
Creative outlets have helped many students get through the isolation and stress. A quarter of respondents said they developed their “artistic side.”
“Since quarantine, I was recommended some old anime to watch by a friend,” said Fairuz Shrabon, another junior. “After some reluctance, I decided to give it a try. I was intrigued by the simplistic art style, so I decided to give drawing a shot.”
One of junior Aziza Yakhyaeva’s earlier paintings completed during quarantine.
“At around the end of April, I was experiencing the worst anxiety I’ve ever had,” said Ani Kuke, a junior. “My mental health was plummeting. I felt like my anxiety was trapping me in, until I found an escape through writing poems. Since then, I have found myself writing poetry for relief and joy. It was a hobby I never thought I’d have, but I couldn’t be more glad to have it now.”
Yakhyaeva said, “I discovered that I love painting, creating videos, photography, and working out while being in quarantine. When I look at art, I also appreciate it more because painting captures feelings and visions in a way that few other materials do.”
Thirty-five percent of students said they “did more things ‘out of my comfort zone,’” and 37.6% “eliminated some bad habits” they used to have before the pandemic.
“I used to have a terrible shopping addiction,” said senior Amelia Barrett. “I’m not a fan of online shopping because I like to try on the clothing I buy, and I was absolutely obsessed with going to the city to get items I knew I wouldn’t wear in a few months. When stores closed because of the pandemic, I took time to think and noticed that this was a terrible habit for me to have because I was wasting all my hard-earned money.”
Brianna Hayles ‘23 said she gained more control over her anxiety. “I used to pick at my skin due to being anxious, but I don’t do that any more,” she said.
Around a quarter of students said they started working out more. So while most students exercised less, some took the opportunity to begin a routine.
“I was emotionally messed up,” said Abdunabiev, “so I decided to pick up jogging. It all took off from there. I have become proficient with so many kinds of home workouts.”
Junior Jary Chen is exercising more now than before the pandemic. Chen said, “I go out more often now, as my schedule is lighter than before Covid. I have the time to jog during the morning since I don’t have to take the bus to school. I also spend more time with my friends playing basketball.”
Abdunabiev plans to keep his new hobbies. “Sure I might’ve picked them up due to pure boredom,” he said, “but I definitely started to see myself improving myself in ways I couldn’t before.”
If you’re still having trouble finding a skill or a hobby that interests you, students recommended the YouTube channels of Mike Shake and Mike Boyd, both of whom focus on learning as many new skills as possible.
“At the end of the day, a hobby is only a reflection of your passion,” said Shrabon. “So if you’re having trouble finding your passion, your answer could be in front of you all this time. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone to test out new things.”
Despite offering a largely negative assessment of their Covid year, only 24.5% of students said that, overall, “quarantine has been a bad experience for me,” though even fewer (15.3%) “enjoyed” it. The majority (60.2%) said they have “mixed feelings about quarantine; the positives and negatives are roughly equal.” Over half of the surveyed students said they became closer with their family.
Nargiza Muhammadieva ‘22 welcomed a niece during the pandemic, which got her mind off of being isolated and the stress from school. She also found a new hobby, crocheting. So far she has crocheted two blankets, one hat, two bucket hats, four headbands, and three bags, she said.
“I wouldn’t say my pandemic experience was good, but at the same time I wouldn’t say that it was terrible,” Kustka said. “It gave me a chance to get to know my sisters a lot better, and I feel like we actually built a stronger relationship.”