Stress and Isolation: The Effects of a Remote Learning Environment on Adolescent Emotional Development
by Kevin Zhang
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Abstract – With approximately 1.6 billion of the world’s student population having their norm completely altered and lives uprooted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, their emotional health should be of the utmost importance. Emotional health was often disregarded in the past but in our modern times, the immense stress caused by an abrupt shift toward a remote environment can greatly affect the emotional development of adolescents and have long-term effects on their emotional wellbeing well through adulthood. The stress, anxiety, and changes in environment and personal habits can greatly influence the way an adolescent lives their lives, from emotions they experience, to their social interactions. The result is that the stressors caused by a remote environment decrease social interaction and increase negative emotions and psychological disorders, leading to an impairment in the emotional development in adolescents that can have long-lasting effects.