2020 was a difficult and life-changing year for people across the world. Everyone made sacrifices and changed their lifestyles in order to adjust to the “new normal” and other safety precautions. Jobs were sent to work from home, travel was completely down, and schools and universities were put online. While every age group faced their own struggles and changes in the COVID era, the impacts on college students specifically have deeply impacted mental and psychological health.
Being a student in college was already becoming more and more difficult. In 2019, a University of Michigan study showed that 75% of college students said that they needed help for emotional and mental health problems. The pressures of academic performance were also met by social pressures from the ever-growing influence of social media. Students were more likely to show signs of anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts. And nearly half (47%) of those surveyed feared the stigma surrounding mental health treatment.
Current college students had a variety of their own, specific struggles that impacted their age group. This group survived more school shootings than other generations, was tasked with the responsibilities and worries about the impending impacts of climate change, and grew up during one of the worst economic recessions in United States history.
When the pandemic struck, students were sent packing in the middle of their spring semester. Without ample time to understand what was happening, these students were thrown out without the time to say goodbye to their friends, their colleges, or any resemblance of the lives that they had built for themselves in university. The seniors did not receive a graduation, many juniors were sent home from study abroad, and almost everyone was forced back to their parents’ houses at an age when independence and freedom is vital to self-growth.
Now, after a year has passed and classes have resumed, they are once again faced with the same pressures and held to the same impossibly high standards of excellence. Zoom fatigue is the new normal, with nearly everyone struggling to keep up with classes and learning far less than they would in a traditional semester. For athletes, this devastated their future prospects. These students have lost their student clubs, the ability to see their friends, and the college experience in many ways.
Even worse, those who are graduating soon are left wondering what the job market will even look like for them. With countless layoffs and completely transformed workplaces, will there even be any jobs for them?
Since the beginning of the coronavirus, studies have seen a 71% increase in stress and anxiety related to the pandemic. This includes an increased fear about their own health and health of their loved ones (91%), difficulty in concentrating (89%), and increased concerns on academic performance (82%).
In order to cope with the overwhelming and ever-increasing stresses and anxieties of a global pandemic, students have looked to different methods for comfort and stability. However, universities must prioritize the mental health of their students above all else during this time. Mental health resources must be more accessible, professors must be respectful and understanding of the situations, and students cannot possibly be expected to perform at the same level. No one can accurately predict what the world will be like once this is all over, but, if universities and professors ignore the increasing pressure on their students, university students will feel the mental health impacts of this for the rest of their lives.
The reported increases in anxiety and stress due to the pandemic are alarmingly high numbers; however, they are not surprising given the circumstances students have been facing over the past year. I am currently taking seven courses, 28 units, and spend a gross amount of hours on Zoom per day. When I am not physically on camera, I am responsible for writing essays, responding to emails, and working on other career-related projects that all require me to be in front of the computer. By the end of the day, my headache makes me question if graduating early is even worth it. Of course, I know it is, but the stress that I feel emotionally and the ironic physical exhaustion from…
Now that I have had almost three semesters on Zoom, I couldn't agree more with your points in your post. No matter who you are or where you live, Zoom school is hard. Zoom school is hard on our physical health, sitting stagnant every day and staring at a screen 24-7. And yes, it is tough on our mental health. We lack that in-person interaction that every human must-have. I agree that access to mental health recourses and teachers understanding students' cognitive needs is vital for students to succeed during this weird time. I feel fortunate that my teachers have been nothing but compassionate and understanding throughout the past year over the past semesters. Once we return to in-person classes,…
Having almost completed another semester of Covid schooling its hard not to agree with the points you've made. Sometimes people underestimate what sitting in a small dorm all day looking at a screen will do to you and assume its just a little uncomfortable. Accessibility to various mental health resources is necessary to combat this and teach students how to cope better with zoom fatigue. It took me the whole first semester of zoom university before I understood what I needed to to to manage the fatigue and I imagine some still struggle with it. Ultimately, things will likely end when classes go back to normal in the fall but increasing accessibility should be the focus in the meantime.
Your statement, "students cannot possibly be expected to perform at the same level", really hit me. As a pre-med senior, I'm used to the cold, distant, and stoic STEM professors who make their courses specifically impossible so as many students will drop or fail out of their classes. And they've only amplified that during zoom. We're expected to read more, keep the same pace, and take more quizzes and exams. I've never asked my professors for help in my general biology, chemistry, or organic chemistry classes other than questions about the exam or grades. I never once reached out to them letting them know I was really struggling mentally, physically, and emotionally. On the other hand, the professors that have…