How Covid is Affecting Social Life
The pandemic has now passed the one-year mark. The world has faced a year full of shutdowns, restrictions, masks, sickness, and losses. All of these factors are a lot to handle especially for young people. Besides the stresses of university, virtual learning, finances and health one area that students have been affected the most is social life. For many, this has been the first pandemic they have ever experienced. Most people are not used to restrictions, social distancing, and quarantining. As a result, these are some factors of how covid has affected students’ social life.
Covid’s Effects on College Campuses
Lockdowns and social distancing has disrupted the way we go about our daily lives. College campuses are full of social interactions, which is why students have affected so much. Big events, large gatherings, and crowds have all come to a halt. Although some people decided to ignore safety measures, others actually isolated themselves. As a result of isolation and lack of social interactions, people have been affected mentally and emotionally. Students who have experienced social isolation or loneliness in the last year were likely to feel they were missing out on the college experience. Of those students, 85% said pandemic-related circumstances have made it hard for them to meet new people and make friends (According to Best Colleges).
Social Affects on Different Students
Depending on whether you are a more social person or an introverted person, isolation either benefited or hurt you. If you are a person who thrives in social settings, you most likely have struggled during the pandemic. The switch from physical to virtual has been more of an adjustment for social beings. On the other hand, people who are less social may have had an easier transition. Either way, relationships, and friendships have been affected.
Virtual Communication
Social platforms have been the holy grail of social interactions and communication. Students especially have spent countless hours of screen time throughout the pandemic. The physical to virtual communication switch is another factor of how covid has affected social life. More virtual communications between students mean “that socializing with people who live locally was just as easy as socializing with people who live on the other side of the world”. As a result, “people could socialize and reconnect with people who they were closer to, regardless of location,” she says. However, “when social interactions moved online, only certain kinds of relationships seemed to survive”.
Boston University senior Joshua Pei takes on some of these questions and navigates his campus life, from student clubs, to work, to simply hanging out with friends in the era of COVID-19.
“For me, someone who loves being around people, it kinda sucked…obviously this is a really small sacrifice to make to keep people safe, plus it’s given me the chance to take more time for myself”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jada Pierce
Student Author - Spring 2021
