Between being in an almost two-year pandemic, balancing curricular and academic responsibilities, maintaining healthy relationships, and facing temptations, being a teenager in 2022 isn’t as easy as it appears.

The pandemic seems to be the origin of all of our problems right now. If the person next to you in any of your classes gets Covid, you are automatically forced at home for the next five days. Five days doesn’t seem half that bad, but in reality, it’s as though you are in prison.

This can result in teenagers feeling depressed and a loss of motivation causing more severe long-term effects. Resulting in getting back to a normal routine being more difficult. The pandemic has also affected many social events resulting in many postponed important sports and other activities.

Another factor that has been affecting teenagers, and continues to this day, is maintaining and managing academic responsibilities. Between all of the classes that are required to graduate and the other courses that fill up our credits, students now have many responsibilities just regarding school. Due dates and rigorous teachers tower over teenagers causing the pressure of school to be even more drastic. All the stress put on adolescents make can truly affect their productivity of academics.

Besides stress, social media also plays a big role in the productivity of students. “Social media is addicting because it drags you in and you can’t stop. It also takes my attention away from the priorities in my life such as homework.” says freshman Rowa Carrico. Social media doesn’t just affect teenagers’ productivity, it also disconnects them from their reality.

The varying platforms that fall under the title of social media portray many false things that young adults should not be dealing with so young. It causes many temptations and forms bad habits which are things teens should be aware of before they get stuck in an endless cycle of scrolling.

Teenagers are also involved in other activities, such as athletics. Sports, on top of academics, may make things confusing and unorganized, requiring some balance between the two. Freshman Hannah Yang says, “try to get schoolwork due later in the week done earlier…sometimes missing one day of practice isn’t the end of the world. Your health matters the most.”

From this, Yang ultimately says putting yourself should be the main focus of teenagers. She also shares, in the student aspect, work can be done ahead of time, so it doesn’t build up on other responsibilities of teens.

One other very important component of teen life is relationships. These bonds between friends and others are in fact very important to the development of social skills and just all-around happiness for teenagers. The main part of friendship is viewed as beneficial for the adolescent stage in life, but sometimes things get more complicated than just that.

Yang says, “In the end, there will be people that leave, but there will be people that stay. Enjoy the time you spend with each other, make some banger memories, and check in on them.”  Overall, Yang is saying that friendship will always be helpful for teens, but only if you look for the good in it.

The teenage years come with many emotions from feeling completely alone to feeling like happiness will last forever. Altogether, growing up in 2022 as a teenager has its ups and downs, but managing your time and surrounding yourself with positive habits and people can make the process a lot easier on you.

On that, being a teen can be troubling; yet, we can all find our way through it.