How the Young Deal With the Coronavirus

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/opinion/letters/us-coronavirus-young.html

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To the Editor:

I am 17 years old. I was born the week the Iraq War started, raised through mass shootings and an economic recession, and will enter adulthood haunted by the climate crisis and a divisive political culture. After being raised on chaotic news headlines, Generation Z is desensitized to crises.

Generation Z is nihilistic: Teenagers feel that their predecessors have let them down, and they believe that the world is so beyond fixing that what happens happens, and they might as well have fun. “A Deadly Coronavirus Mix in Florida: An Aging Population and Lots of Young Visitors” (nytimes.com, March 18) showed how students’ defiant “spring breaking” jeopardizes Floridians’ safety.

My peers need to understand that “corona-cation” is no joking matter. These are difficult times, but to create a better tomorrow, we must maximize social distancing efforts. Do not fear boredom; we have internet, TV, radio and our families. Learn. Cook. Paint. Laugh at memes, but take experts seriously. If Generation Z is frustrated with seeing chaotic headlines all the time, the only way to restore normalcy is to embrace social distancing.

Meredith PerkinsIndependence, Ky.The writer is a high school student.

To the Editor:

Re “I’m 26. Coronavirus Sent Me to the Hospital,” by Fiona Lowenstein (Op-Ed, March 23):

As a high school student and a part of Generation Z, I’ve been less concerned about getting Covid-19 and more concerned about spreading it to more vulnerable populations. While I’ve been staying at home and sheltering in place (as was ordered for the state of California), many of my friends haven’t been doing the same.

I know people who continue going to restaurants and have been treating the change in education as an extended spring break and excuse to spend more time with friends. I fear for my grandparents and parents, but this article showed me that we should also fear for ourselves.

I appreciated seeing this article because many younger people seem to feel invincible. The fact that a healthy 26-year-old can be hospitalized means that we are all capable of getting the virus ourselves and spreading it to others. I hope that Ms. Lowenstein continues spreading her story and that she makes a full recovery soon.

Addie MullerSan Jose, Calif.

To the Editor:

As a parent of a teenage daughter, I often wonder what the aftereffects will be once this health crisis is over. What will the repercussions be for her education? Her social skills? These are supposed to be the days for her to come out of her shell and become the woman that she is destined to be.

I noticed the other day that my daughter, who is quite the artist, was painting a very subdued self-portrait of herself looking out the window. She said it was her way of showing her feelings about missing her friends, even though they were talking, texting and Snapchatting seemingly every single minute of the day.

But the lack of face-to-face contact and meeting up at their favorite hangout spots in town is starting to wear my daughter and her friends down. It’s starting to wear us all down. My daughter and her friends are realizing that the real relationship is being together — physically, in the same room.

If this ordeal has done nothing for us but proven one lesson that I have been trying to teach my daughter, it is this: Staying connected is seeing people and being with people.

For the longest time, teenagers have looked at their phones and depended on them to “stay connected” with their friends. And yes, phones are very good for that. However, there is nothing like getting together with friends and being there for each other in the same room, making eye contact, laughing with each other and celebrating the fact that you are making a connection that is real.

Colin YoderGreensboro, N.C.

To the Editor:

While most college students are likely grieving lost experiences or perhaps an underwhelming return on their spring tuition, thankfully, many haven’t yet suffered the loss of a friend or family member in the early days of this pandemic. In the week since my abrupt departure from campus, I have remained one of these lucky ones. My family is in good health, and the same fortune has extended to my peers.

My focus, like that of millions of other students worldwide, has shifted to completing online courses and adjusting to social distancing in lieu of a social life.

In the early days of quarantine, I’ve come to realize that this unique pause in life presents an opportunity for young adults. While it may feel like one frustrating snow day after another, we may never find a better opportunity to attend to ourselves and the objects of our daily neglect for years.

I would urge my fellow students to take care of yourselves during this strange time but to challenge yourselves as well. Enjoy that takeout from your favorite restaurant and start the new show you’ve been dying to watch on Netflix, but why not fix your sleep schedule and study a bit harder this semester as well? Above all else, stay safe, stay healthy and stay connected.

Peter DranowRidgefield, Conn.The writer is a junior at Union College.

To the Editor:

“Without the Luxury to Dream,” by Katherine Hu (Op-Ed, March 25), has given me new insights into the challenges faced by young people today. A source of hope for Ms. Hu and her generation is that virtually all preceding generations have been saddled with their own unique challenges.

My grandfather’s cohort had the Great Depression and World War I, as well as millions of deaths from the Spanish flu. My father’s lifelong desire to attend law school was rendered impossible because of World War II and then Korea. My generation was torn apart by the Vietnam War, which sabotaged the plans of a significant percentage of our youth, my own brother included. None of the adversities, like the current coronavirus, were predictable, yet people adapted, many even thrived.

I am almost 70, but nearly 40 years ago, similar to Ms. Hu’s concerns, I, too, struggled with the ethics of bringing a child into this world.

We in the older generation are heartbroken, even somewhat apologetic, for the problems confronting our youth, but frankly, whether fair or not, we depend on these young, energetic minds to confront global and domestic challenges with equanimity and creativity, and hopefully overcome them with novel solutions that have thus far eluded their now-weary predecessors.

Jeffrey T. LeonardsBuxton, Me.

To the Editor:

My heart goes out to Katherine Hu, who is in the same cohort as my own two children. My own cohort graduated in the 1980s, during the onset of the H.I.V. epidemic, and we were also thrown into a world of economic uncertainty and fear. Goals continue to shift throughout one’s adult development; you cannot anticipate what will be thrown your way. On the other hand, you also don’t know what new skills and resources you will be able to muster.

Regarding your question about whether you can “finally fix” longstanding structural problems in our society, each new wave of college graduates fixes on this type of abstract, ideological goal only to find themselves far more preoccupied by the more quotidian battles of finding work, paying rent, making meaningful connections with each other. In these everyday struggles there is a lot of learning, of a different kind from what you learned at Yale, but just as valuable.

While you should never forget your loftier goals, for now, throw yourself wholeheartedly into the more pragmatic puzzle of figuring out how to live in the world. What you learn from your own struggles may translate into solutions outside them.

Nina BelforWestlake Village, Calif.