According to the United Nations the novel coronavirus has caused a global health crisis unlike any other in the last 75 years, it is a deadly disease that is killing thousands of people daily across the world. We’re amidst a global pandemic that is affecting every aspect of our lives. Businesses are going bankrupt, people are losing their jobs, and levels of fear and stress are rising due to uncertainty surrounding the future. COVID-19 has become a worldwide crisis, but for the youth of today COVID-19 will be a defining moment in our lives and might hold long-term psychological and social effects that will re-shape Generation Z, creating a community shared trauma.
Generation Z is classified as the newest generation and includes those born between the mid 90s to the mid 2010s. Most of the Gen-Z youth are now entering adulthood, many of us are either graduating high school or university and trying to plan out a new path, though due to COVID-19 this has proved to become a much more difficult task. Schools are switching to online classes, but are still finding it difficult to know how to handle graduates and their exams. Unfortunately many students risk not being able to graduate. Youths are also losing their jobs at a higher rate because nearly half of the workers in restaurants, bars and hotels are between the ages of 16-24 and due to less experience young workers are more likely to be let go first. COVID-19 is also taking a toll on the future plans of youth – people are losing their internships and college choices might be limited for many this time around. Countless events are also being cancelled, such as prom and graduation. We’ve been looking forward to many of these celebrations and events that were supposed to celebrate the hardship we’ve all been through and that we finally made it to the finish line.
