Teenagers’ Experiences during COVID-19 Shutdowns
Format Type
Plenary
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
13-1-2021 3:50 PM
End Date
13-1-2021 4:10 PM
Abstract
Spring 2020 was a unique time, with the majority of U.S. states moving schooling online and shutting down businesses. The shift to online schooling in K-12 was unprecedented and the majority of schools and teachers were unprepared for this move, as were the students. These changes also led to isolation in many cases, as many people tried to stay home, whether by choice or mandate. As teens are at a time in their lives where peer interactions take precedent (Moses & Villodas, 2017), I wanted to know how these changes were affecting them. Using snowball sampling, I asked teens to take pictures of, or describe, the changes to their lives and school experiences as well how they coped with the changes. I gave participants the choice to respond to prompts about their experiences or to participate in an interview via Zoom. Eleven teenagers elected to participate in this study. Results showed that many found their online school experiences to be lacking in rigor compared to their usual face-to-face classes. They missed interacting with their friends and felt that virtual interaction, though nice, was not the same. Some felt that their peers did not socially distance appropriately and spoke of friends who still visited each other in person. Coping strategies included exercise, reading, playing games, and watching movies or television shows. Some positives included having more time to spend with their families, getting to sleep in, and having more free time, but some reported that they argued with their siblings more.
Keywords
high school students, COVID-19, online education, peer interactions
Teenagers’ Experiences during COVID-19 Shutdowns
Spring 2020 was a unique time, with the majority of U.S. states moving schooling online and shutting down businesses. The shift to online schooling in K-12 was unprecedented and the majority of schools and teachers were unprepared for this move, as were the students. These changes also led to isolation in many cases, as many people tried to stay home, whether by choice or mandate. As teens are at a time in their lives where peer interactions take precedent (Moses & Villodas, 2017), I wanted to know how these changes were affecting them. Using snowball sampling, I asked teens to take pictures of, or describe, the changes to their lives and school experiences as well how they coped with the changes. I gave participants the choice to respond to prompts about their experiences or to participate in an interview via Zoom. Eleven teenagers elected to participate in this study. Results showed that many found their online school experiences to be lacking in rigor compared to their usual face-to-face classes. They missed interacting with their friends and felt that virtual interaction, though nice, was not the same. Some felt that their peers did not socially distance appropriately and spoke of friends who still visited each other in person. Coping strategies included exercise, reading, playing games, and watching movies or television shows. Some positives included having more time to spend with their families, getting to sleep in, and having more free time, but some reported that they argued with their siblings more.