High school seniors sit at desks fitted with plastic dividers in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 20, 2020. (Yonhap)
SUWON, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The novel coronavirus has had a significant impact on the lives of teenagers.
The Suwon Youth Foundation conducted a survey of 1,724 students from elementary, middle and high school and 1,779 parents, which showed that study time each day had dropped by 36 minutes (2 hours and 18 minutes) after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Time spent watching media content, in contrast, increased from 1 hour and 41 minutes to 2 hours and 16 minutes, as more students spent more time at home.
Students slept 56 minutes less (6 hours and 48 minutes), ate less often (2.6 times per day instead of 2.7), and exercised less (1.1 times per week instead of 2) compared to before the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in higher anxiety among students as well as higher demand for activity.
Following social distancing measures that restricted outdoor, ‘contact’ activities, the sense of happiness dropped by 21.9 percent, while stress levels and anxiety towards the future rose by 24.1 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively.
The pandemic also took a toll on career planning for all students.
Roughly one third of elementary school students changed their career aspirations to doctor (58.3 percent) and police officer (25 percent).
On the other hand, 41.2 percent of middle and high school students struggled with career preparations.
Both parents (63.4 percent) and students (38 percent) were found to be dissatisfied with online classes.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
