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The research association “Childhood - Youth - Family in the Corona Period” of the Universities of Hildesheim and Frankfurt has shown in the online survey JuCo 2 how the sensitivities of young people have changed during the Corona period.
More than 7000 teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 30 took part.
The Frankfurt child and youth researcher Sabine Andresen is one of the heads of the study.
WORLD:
Ms. Andresen, which findings were particularly surprising or moving for you?
Sabine Andresen:
I was touched by the high proportion of adolescents and young adults who are afraid of their own future.
This is particularly true of those who have few resources and who had experienced shortages even before Corona - and those who are currently at important biographical transitions.
The psychological stress on these young people is very high.
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WORLD:
The lockdown restricts us all in our freedom, but young people particularly suffer from it.
Why?
Andresen:
Youth is a special phase, and most adults will still remember that.
It's about trying out, spending time outside of the parental home, breaking away from home.
Most adolescents and young adults now particularly lack all of this.
The young people willingly limit their contacts.
But they miss the direct personal get-together with their friends.
In addition, almost all leisure activities are eliminated.
Compared to the older generations, this age group lives less often in a stable partnership, which is one of the reasons why they are particularly dependent on contact with their peers.
A very important finding of our study is the high proportion of young people who have the impression that they are not seen, heard and included.
You also experience the last year as a form of powerlessness.
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WORLD:
The current contact restrictions hit children and young people particularly hard.
In many federal states, they are not even allowed to visit another household while accompanying their parents.
Does it really have to be?
Andresen:
I think it's an insubordinate harshness.
In crises there seems to be a reflex to see children and young people only as a kind of appendage and not as people with their own rights.
During this time, too, measures and their effect on the special needs of children and young people should be considered.
If the federal states treat children in the same way as adults in the face of tightened contact restrictions, this will also mean that parents no longer have any leeway at all.
The incidence of infections is undoubtedly on a dramatic scale, and that will affect many families, children and young people.
But in view of the restrictions that will presumably be necessary for a longer period of time, it would be important to create areas of possibility, to signal that things are also being looked at to see what might be possible.
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WORLD:
For example?
Andresen:
If the contact restrictions also apply to children, two or three families could not get together in small, fixed groups for childcare.
Some families would perhaps rather do this than send the children to daycare.
I very much hope that the federal states will reconsider the contact restrictions for children under 14.
WORLD:
How do you rate the resolutions on school closings?
Andresen:
I fear that many schools have not used the time to prepare students for the new distance learning.
This means that probably again very many pupils have little contact with the teachers, somehow get their worksheets and learning progress is more than questionable.
This hits those particularly hard who have few opportunities to study well at home - for example because their living space is cramped.
By the way, cramped living conditions are a sticking point when it comes to coping with the issue.
If you have enough space and can withdraw and hang out as a child or teenager, you will probably get through the time better.
WORLD:
"We are seen primarily as students, not as people," is one of the allegations made by the young people in your study.
What's behind it?
"First of all, it's about teaching the final classes well"
The schools are supposed to remain closed until the end of January.
But individual federal states deviate from the resolutions.
Education Minister Anja Karliczek advocates regional solutions.
The final classes should have priority.
Source: WELT / Tatjana Ohm
Andresen:
Behind this is the perception of young people that since the pandemic they have been reduced to a single role and task and should please function.
In the chaos they should still learn, cope with their tasks and not be irritated by the diversity of school policy, the headlines about school closings, the interviews about masking requirements, yes or no, and so on.
For adolescents and young adults, the question of how conclusive the rules actually are and where there is unequal treatment is also important.
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WORLD:
Are there any differences to the first lockdown?
Andresen:
We are still in the detailed evaluation, but what we can say is that the approval of the infection control measures is generally very high.
But we also see that around a third of those surveyed say they feel lonely.
And loneliness is an extraordinary burden.
Even mothers, fathers or siblings cannot always cope with this.
WORLD:
There is often talk of a "Corona generation".
Does the label apply?
Andresen:
I feel very uncomfortable with this term.
Such an attribution does something to the children and adolescents.
If they have the impression that they are being labeled as “Generation Corona”, that is a bad message.
That is why I would argue that we should carefully consider what we can do so that this generation is not lost and has no significant disadvantages.
So far there has been a certain lack of imagination.
WORLD:
Young people in particular are very at home in the digital world.
Too much, as is occasionally criticized.
They would need to be proficient in maintaining their relationships remotely.
Or is it not?
Andresen:
They are too.
One could have relied much more on the expertise of the young people in the design of distance learning.
Because they are definitely experts.
However, young people also say in our study that pure digital communication cannot replace friendship, a hug, a meeting, or checking each other out.
You usually do a lot at the same time.
They are together with their buddies and still use social networks at the same time.
But now there is only one thing - and everything at school is at a distance.
There is nothing for the young students: no university life, no student life, they just sit in their online lectures.
WORLD: But
the family also seems to be an important factor.
The majority feel understood and cared for at home.
Are you surprised?
This is how much children and young people suffer from the lockdown
What children and teenagers normally do has just been canceled in lockdown.
They have to stay at home and have fewer social contacts.
A study has now found something surprising.
Source: WELT / Isabell Finzel
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Andresen:
No, youth surveys before Corona also show that a large proportion feel very comfortable at home - with understanding parents and opportunities to negotiate.
But we have to look: under what conditions do parents manage this?
It is not easy to keep teenagers engaged, to keep one another upright, to be there for one another, to discuss worries, to deal with fears and to give meaning to everyday life.
That is an enormous achievement.
WORLD:
There should also often be a fire under the roof when everyone is crouching on top of each other.
Is that also reported?
Andresen:
It can be assumed that the conflicts will now come to the fore again when it comes to mastering the school environment.
We know from other studies that homework and learning for school are among the greatest conflict issues between parents and their children.
This becomes even more complex when parents slip into the role of auxiliary teachers again and feel insecure themselves or build up too much pressure because they don't want their child to miss too much.
This requires a lot of inner strength from mothers and fathers.
WORLD:
Young people in particular who are experiencing a biographical upheaval see the crisis as a threat.
What is the main concern of young people?
Andresen:
In our society we expect young people to have goals and pursue them, to do something with their lives, to develop their identity.
But now many plans have been canceled or are shaky for the time being.
Young people ask themselves questions: what's next?
Will my school leaving certificate be worth less?
Should I really go to another city to study, even though I'm all alone?
This transition phase is difficult because there are no longer many options.
It is not that easy to generate good alternatives.
So far, however, they have not heard from anyone: People, relax, you get the time you need, you can catch up on everything.
This is not the narrative of our society at the moment either.
Our society demands optimization.
And after the pandemic, things will probably continue quite briskly.
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