Gscene - GENERATION COVID Rachel Badham

GENERATION COVID

by Rachel Badham

University graduate Rachel Badham reflects on what the pandemic has taken from young people and how the LGBTQ+ community in particular has suffered

As a student, I pictured the defining event of 2020 to be graduating university. For other young people, this year might have been characterised by starting university, entering employment, or simply enjoying the summer months with friends and family. However, as my social media feeds have become flooded with photos captioned ‘the closest I’ll get to a real graduation picture’, or ‘first time seeing my partner after three months in lockdown’, it has become painfully evident that the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in life-altering changes and losses for young people across the globe.

I had never considered the fragility of my own life and, like many people my age, I find that youth comes with a sense of invincibility. Yet, as I spoke to friends who were afraid to leave their homes and who began to worry about their health, I realised that I too perhaps had reason to be concerned. Young people with existing health conditions or compromised immune systems were, almost overnight, left with no choice but to self-isolate or risk exposure. Even healthy young people such as myself were presented with a risk that we didn’t expect to collectively face as a generation. Headlines such as The Independent’s ‘Coronavirus: 12-year-old among latest confirmed deaths as England’s hospital tally almost outstrips Spain’s total fatalities’ topped some of the most harrowing news stories of 2020 due to the disbelief that young lives had become so vulnerable during these new and frightening conditions. In the early months of the pandemic, an Express headline branded coronavirus ‘terrifying’ due to the fact that ‘young, healthy people’ were at risk as well as the elderly. The pandemic has not just caused loss of life in the younger generations, but has led to a new awareness, and with that a new fear, of our own mortality. One of the most widespread effects of the pandemic in young people has been loneliness and emotional distress, as we have suddenly lost the social life and daily structure that we once had. I, along with many fellow students and friends, support the lockdown and believe it’s essential for reducing the impacts of the virus, but we have also found that it has taken a toll on our mental health.

While the young generation has often been subject to criticism for heavy reliance on technological devices and social media, my experience – and that of the majority of people my age who I’ve spoken to throughout the lockdown period – is that virtual contact could not possibly replace socialising face to face, and many have been left feeling isolated as they lack human connection. Loneliness does not equate to the seriousness of losing a life due to Covid-19, but the consequences of isolation on someone’s mental wellbeing may be life-threatening, particularly when the national lockdown has reduced the ability of mental health services to provide resources for those in need. Loneliness is affecting all age groups during the pandemic, but for university students who are generally accustomed to a highly social style of living, the sudden loss of interaction has been challenging for many.

“Loneliness is affecting all age groups during the pandemic, but for university students, who are generally accustomed to a highly social style of living, the sudden loss of interaction has been challenging”

Young LGBTQ+ people have also been hit particularly hard, as their access to supportive communities has been limited. With recent studies – including The Link Between LGBTQ-Supportive Communities, Progressive Political Climate, And Suicidality Among Sexual Minority Adolescents In Canada, published in Preventive Medicine –demonstrating that young queer people are less likely to suffer mental health problems when in a supportive environment, many are now lacking access to essential wellbeing resources. The Trevor Project’s National Survey On LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health 2020 also demonstrated that nearly half of LGBTQ+ youth have engaged in self-harm within the past year, 60% of whom were gender non-conforming young people. Queer people’s mental wellbeing is already vulnerable and, as leading mental health charity Mind has tracked a decline in people’s ability to access vital services during the lockdown, it’s the young LGBTQ+ community who have been some of the most affected.

I’m thankful that the lockdown period didn’t dramatically affect my mental health, however as a young queer person the pandemic has brought a sense of disappointment as summer Pride events were cancelled across the globe. In 2018 and 2019, Brighton & Hove Pride was one of the highlights of my summer and an event where I felt a great sense of community. These cancellations, combined with the loss of my graduation ceremony, meant that my opportunities to not only be proud of my academic accomplishments, but to be proud of my identity were no more; a loss felt by both university graduates and LGBTQ+ young people alike.

Now one of the biggest burdens the younger generation faces is the challenge of how we will adapt to this ‘new normal’, and how we will recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic. Like many other students, the pandemic left me concerned about the availability of graduate jobs and, on a broader scale, a large proportion of the younger generation has struggled financially during this period, with the BBC reporting the number of young people on benefits doubling during lockdown. What is for sure is that the young generation has faced social and economic losses that no one expected to contend with in 2020. As I mourn the loss of my graduation ceremony and of Brighton & Hove Pride, I can only imagine the sorrow felt by those who’ve lost jobs, loved ones, and any sense of stability and hope in this time.

MORE INFO

2020/?section=Introduction

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii /S0091743520302152?via%3Dihub

www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2020/?section=introduction

www.mind.org.uk

www.mindout.org.uk