The mental impact

As sophomore Sophia Nagorski sits at home in her virtual classes, she stares at her teacher and a slew of black boxes before her. The discomfort of the few students with their cameras on combined with Zoom’s isolated environment has made Nagorski feel secluded. 

“I struggle getting out of my bed. I do my first two Zoom classes in bed and then I get up and shower and do the rest of my classes but I don’t really go outside that much besides walking my dogs,” Nagorski said. 

According to Children’s Minnesota Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker Amy Moeller, distance learning has increased anxiety and depression among teens.

“It’s the isolation. It’s hating distance learning, it’s doing everything online — there’s no social interaction, there’s no seeing your friends in the hall,” Moeller said. “It’s just an abnormal way to learn that most kids don’t like because we’re not used to that; we’re used to somebody writing on the board and having that interaction with the teacher.” 

Although freshman Camille Ramberg said she feels she has an advantage during distance learning as she gets her work done without outside support, her motivation has been deteriorating as time goes on.  

“Even though I feel like I self-motivate myself, it definitely feels like it has gone down. I think it is because of the lack of socialization that I have,” Ramberg said. “I don’t really reach out to peers, with teachers I’m fine, but with students and people my age, not so much.”

Between trying to balance assignments and keep in touch with friends, Nagorski said she feels overwhelmed. 

“Assignments just stack up and then we’re rushing to do them and getting them done on time … All that combined with work and maintaining friendships,” Nagorski said.