The lingering toll: How the pandemic shaped a generation’s mental health

By Lindsay Sylvester

When the pandemic hit, Ava Sollenne started high school through a screen, with limited opportunities to connect with peers. 

Orientation, usually a rite of passage for new students, never happened in person. 

 “I would’ve loved to participate in orientation,” Sollenne said. “At a new school with lots of new students, orientation would’ve served as a great time to get to know others and start forming new bonds.”

Throughout the country, students like Sollenne missed critical milestones — the first day of high school, prom, sports seasons, and graduations — that mark growing up. 

For College of Charleston Senior Natalie Laskowski, the losses defined her final year. 

“Although my school did try to make these things happen within the constraints of following safety protocol,” she said, “they were totally different than how I’d imagined them to be and forever changed my high school experience.

“I never got to experience the fun of senior year, only the work,” Lakowski added.

These experiences were not unique to students. Joy Smiley Wesson, an executive functioning coach who previously taught middle school, has spent years working one-on-one with children navigating the aftermath of the pandemic. 

She immediately noticed how the crisis affected students’ resilience and problem-solving skills.

“The biggest – grit. The ability to work through a problem,” Wesson said. “Our generation and older generations can say, ‘Okay, this is a problem—how do I fix it?’ This generation shuts down immediately. Zero problem-solving.”

Disconnected connections

As in-person contact disappeared, phones and screens became lifelines. Students relied on FaceTime, group chats, and social media to stay connected. 

“Phones definitely helped me stay in touch with important family members, like my grandparents,” Sollenne said. “I’d FaceTime or call them almost every day.”

Yet, this new dependence came at a cost. Parents, like Lisa Sylvester, noticed how digital connection often replaced personal interaction. 

“There is no true human connection or contact,” she said. “It’s incredibly lonely.”

Research supports what families experienced firsthand. Teen screen time jumped to nearly eight hours a day outside of schoolwork during the pandemic, and heavy use has been linked to higher risks of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. By 2022, 95% of teens had access to a smartphone, and nearly half reported being online “almost constantly.”

Wesson also noted that these struggles went beyond social habits and affected academic and personal development. 

“Some won’t do busy work even with AI allowed. They’re like: ‘Why would I do that? Waste of my time.’ Lack of resilience, lack of work ethic, lack of critical thinking—it’s a huge impact that started during COVID and is still being felt today,” she said.

Emotional fallout

The emotional strain of isolation quickly surfaced. 

Nearly 37% of high school students reported poor mental health during the pandemic, and one in five considered suicide, according to CDC data. 

By 2021, 42% said they felt persistently sad or hopeless.

Nationally those personal stories align with the statistics.

“It was difficult to build relationships with any new friends or even teachers,” Sollenne said. “It was also challenging to focus on schoolwork in such a new and stressful environment.”

For Laskowski, the effects have been long-lasting. 

“Most people I know, myself included, have become less socially confident and more motivated by avoidance,” she said. “COVID has made me, a once outgoing and unapologetic person, timid and self-conscious.”

Many parents have observed similar struggles in young children. 

Sylvester’s son, who was 12 when schools shifted online for COVID, remains lonely and bored. 

“[He] has no confidence or social skills but desperately wants them and wants friends. He is lonely and bored.” 

Laskowski also noticed these effects while working with a 5-month-old baby boy during the pandemic.

“He cried hysterically when his grandmother came to visit,” she said, “and he would reach for me since he was not used to seeing unfamiliar faces,” she said. 

Disrupted routines, shifting habits

As routines disappeared, many students struggled to maintain structure. 

“We both developed more introverted habits, spent more time on our phones and lost all structure regarding basic routine,” Laskowski said. “I think having a sense of community and learning the importance of relationships with your peers was lost.”

Even after schools reopened, reestablishing normal habits wasn’t easy. 

“He thrived being back in person,” Sylvester said about her son. “He didn’t mind the mask and was happy to be with people again.” 

But still for many, rebuilding confidence and consistency has taken much longer.

Lingering struggles

Five years since COVID shut everything down, both Sollenne and Laskowski are still dealing with the long-term impact of those lost years. 

“I have a greater appreciation for the simple things in life,” Sollenne said. “The pandemic taught me to be more appreciative of the little things — like being able to go outside, visit with friends, see my grandparents and more.”

For Laskowski, the lessons are more complicated. 

“I struggle to maintain habits that create a structured routine and regularly deal with avoidance and procrastination issues regarding school work or anything that causes me stress,” she said. “COVID not only impacted children emotionally but their parents as well. I think many parents still carry their fears and experiences with them from the pandemic into their [parenting] styles now.”

As students continue to navigate a post-pandemic world, the ripple effects of those formative years remain clear. 

The generation that came of age in isolation is still relearning how to connect — both with others and with themselves.

Wesson summed up the broader challenge facing today’s youth.

“This generation is still learning how to navigate human connection, problem-solve, and push through challenges they should have learned to face years ago,” she said. “They’re resilient in ways we can admire, but they’re still reclaiming what was lost during those formative years.”