I feel so sad for young people

[Pink98]

I feel terribly sad for young people atm. Their education is being affected so enormously and they are growing up in a world when the future is so unclear.
I know some are breaking rules (that’s the same in every generation) but for the most part they are sacrificing so much for older generations safety and all they have got in return is blame and scorn while adults are able to return to work, garden centres, restaurants, regaining a small sense of ‘normality’ whilst students are cooped up in their rooms still studying nearly 100% online.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me why university students are being asked to voluntarily lockdown and the older generations aren’t, and I can’t imagine having to do it at that age myself

I do too. Curtailed liberties now, very uncertain economic and environmental future.

I think it's absolutely shit for them, and they are going to end up hating the older generations, probably they are right to.

I agree 100% but we are in the minority it would appear.

Me too, it’s awful for everyone, but it’s the young people I feel so sorry for.

@GreekOddess

I agree 100% but we are in the minority it would appear.

I’m not sure what age group you’re in but I’m not far of University age myself (wasn’t talking about myself in this I’m not a student or a teenager ) but I would say for people 25 and under this is a VERY popular opinion. I know quite a lot of young people and they are becoming very angry when I speak to them. I’m not one to be dramatic but something I would honestly worry about in the event of another lockdown is the civil unrest it would cause

I feel that but then the ones I know look at me like I am a little crazy if I say this because they are either working or at school right now. The students I know of can mix within their house group? Yes I feel sorry for them as a cohort. But the individuals I speak to are fine right now.

My elderly family haven't been socialising much at all since March so I do feel for them more, in our family set up anyway.

Me too, and I am really out of patience with people sneering at the effect on the young.

@SallySeven

I feel that but then the ones I know look at me like I am a little crazy if I say this because they are either working or at school right now. The students I know of can mix within their house group? Yes I feel sorry for them as a cohort. But the individuals I speak to are fine right now.

My elderly family haven't been socialising much at all since March so I do feel for them more, in our family set up anyway.

Yeh I guess it does somewhat depend on an individuals situation.

I’m from an area with low cases and all students have been firmly asked to voluntarily go into lockdown whilst people who are vulnerable and previously shielding are able to carry on as before. It’s causing a lot of tensions

Agree too. I feel kind of on the edge with it all.

I don’t think we’re alone though as irl I know lots of people who think the same. My DS is normally a happy go lucky cheerful sort and he’s definitely been more morose than I’d expect. He’s started at 6th form college and they’re doing alternate weeks in person. So effectively in alternate week lockdown. They’re all pretty miserable actually.

My DD is younger and has gone from being enthusiastic student to really can’t be bothered student in 6 months. I worry about the long term impact on their futures. They’ve got a lot of life ahead of them.

You're on a hiding to nothing here.

@Batshitbeautycosmeticsltd

You're on a hiding to nothing here.

Yes I don’t except to actually achieve any change from this post, just vent my frustrations and see if others agree

@Pink98. I'm far too old to be considered young.

It makes me sad, very sad. I have very vulnerable people in my family who haven't really followed the rules since the beginning and are not following them at all now. But the blame is being put on young people.

Divide and conquer.

I feel sorry for them too. I have a year 13 and year 11 who are being completely stuffed at the minute.
This is largely to protect the likes of my eighty year old diabetic FIL with his big fat pension and now into thirty years of retirement, who moans how unfair it all is refuses to online shop, continues to mingle with neighbours and insisting on putting himself at unnecessary risk.

I’m 25 and all my friends are happy to go along with the restrictions because we don’t want people to die. Do we wish we could be out enjoying our youth? Yes. Do we think people who are ignoring the rules to do so anyway are morons? Absolutely yes.

I agree completely, but I can see it's a huge Catch 22 and I don't really know what else can be done.

But all these kids, their education seriously disturbed, their social life and their mental health suffering - even young adults trying to start out in their career with their more experienced colleagues working from home so they can't gain the benefit of their experiences.

I don't know what the answer is but I feel so, so sad for them all. Mine aren't teens yet, but every now and again I get overwhelmed by the thought of what the lives of millions of kids and young adults are growing up in at the moment.

I had my best years as a teenager/late teen. I agree it’s absolutely crap for them.

I agree, you don't get your youth back.

Oh forgot to mention, a guy I went to uni with died of it a few months ago - he was 25 too and not ECV. So I think that put things into perspective for my group.

@PattyPan

Oh forgot to mention, a guy I went to uni with died of it a few months ago - he was 25 too and not ECV. So I think that put things into perspective for my group.

That’s absolutely tragic and I will be praying for his family, I hope he didn’t suffer too much and he is at leave now.

I don’t meant to invalidate it whatsoever however from another perspective my teenage brother attempted suicide three times in lockdown (no previous mental health issues) and two young families I know well lost their homes. There are a LOT of bad things that will come out of another lockdown

*at peace, apologies

Me too.

There's just nothing for them this year, there's a huge row on my local Facebook about Halloween night of all things, the kids have had do much taken away it's just horrible.

I know of 5 young people local to me who have killed themselves as a direct result of the effects of Corona virus. A mix of self employed and young students, one was a Personal trainer. The poor girl held out and went back to work expecting things to be normal but the sad reality was that didn't happen and she couldn't see a way out.

We're going to have far more young people dying because of the effects of the virus than the virus will ever take. I actually think we're sitting on a suicide epidemic that's going to go on for years. We're at a cross roads now and we have to be really careful which road we go down.

@WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo

I know of 5 young people local to me who have killed themselves as a direct result of the effects of Corona virus. A mix of self employed and young students, one was a Personal trainer. The poor girl held out and went back to work expecting things to be normal but the sad reality was that didn't happen and she couldn't see a way out.

We're going to have far more young people dying because of the effects of the virus than the virus will ever take. I actually think we're sitting on a suicide epidemic that's going to go on for years. We're at a cross roads now and we have to be really careful which road we go down.

I completely agree. I not at attempting suicide but I definitely have had suicidal thoughts Because of this and I think that’s very very very common. It’s so difficult and can’t go on the way it is

@cptartapp same here year 13 and year 11, both hard workers, good sets and grades. I feel so sad that lockdown may be enforced again soon, the tiny bit of freedom is going to be taken away again.

Both DH and I are NHS workers, so worried they may soon be spending days alone again. Fingers crossed schools stay open as long as possible.

@Pink98 thank you, it really was tragic. He had such a bright future.

I do think the government really needs to step up mental health provision. I’m fortunate that my work provides private healthcare and through that we can get 10 counselling sessions without a GP referral which they have been doing virtually, and we also have an employee support phone line we can call at any time. I think it’s so important that workplaces, universities and sixth forms should provide things like that. When I was at uni there was a phone line run by student volunteers which I feel could be rolled out in the community.

I am so worried about what is happening at Universities. Students were encouraged to go and told they would still be provided with an interesting and varied experience. Now a hall of residence in Manchester is surrounded by police and security and students are not allowed to leave. In Scotland it is suggested that students will not be allowed home for Christmas. My daughter only turned 18 a few weeks ago and now faces these worries, her first time living away from home. Imagine the outcry if a residential street were surrounded by a police cordon! Don’t young people who happen to be at University have rights too?