As Covid takes everything from the Young, Society and the Media single them out for even rare breaches of the rules. By Zoë Jackson McGrath Youth is about the only thing worth having, and that is about the only thing youth has. Unfortunately a global pandemic has challenged even this iron law of cynicism and regret. Nature gives youth a great deal, but appears to be the only force on its side – this generation are maturing in a society typified by housing crises, limited job opportunities, boundless inequalities and a planet that appears to be wilting before our very eyes. As such, anxiety among the young had heretofore become remarkably prevalent in Ireland, the youngest country in Europe. The last thing the these already precarious conditions and pessimistic outlook of this generation needed was an all-encompassing Act of God or Nature (or the last hoorah of Twentieth-Century Man). It appears the received wisdom on Covid-19 is often purveyed by those who seem to have forgotten what it is to be young. Pope Fran- cis condemned the “cruel abandonment” of the elderly in his third encyclical published in early October. He is not wrong. The elderly and those with underlying medical conditions – the most vulnerable among us – are undeniably the most strongly affected by the pandemic. In Ireland approximately 90% per cent of those who have died with Covid-19 are over 65, a demographic which has been subject to oppressive, if necessary, cocooning and which inevitably has been suffering commensurately from angst over possible infection, and ennui around frittering away scarce months in the absence of cherished loved ones, who often tend to disproportionately illuminate the lives of those in old age. Notwithstanding these truths, the wide- spread social and emotional impact of the pandemic cannot be understated. The physiological risk is greatest for the elderly and those with co-morbidities but the indirect consequences endured by younger generations have been inadequately addressed. An EU-wide survey by Eurofound in April 2020 reported that almost a quarter of aged 18-23 in Ireland felt lonely all or most of the time over the two-week period before inter- view – the second highest rate in the 17 EU countries for which data was available. Euro- found said that the “lowest levels of mental well-being are reported among young people and those looking for work”. A recent report, ‘How’s Your Head?: Young Voices During Covid-19’ found the Covid-19 crisis had negative effects on young people’s health and well-being, especially amongst some marginalised groups. The most common negative effects related to the mental health of respondents, including overthinking, concern, worry, anxiety, depression and a sense of utter hopelessness. In all 751 (35 per cent) of 2,173 people aged between 15 and 24 said not being able to see their friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, was the most difficult consequence of the pandemic and pursuant lockdown. They report a distinct lack of “timely” and “clear” communication during such a transient and formative period in their lives about “important matters”, such as the Leaving Certificate and college accommodation. One in 10 could not name a single positive about their pandemic experience. What effect can this have on the innocence, effervescence and adventurousness of youth? The youth have been deprived of rites-of-passage and legitimate youthful expectations due to Covid-19, left unable to engage in the activities that should colour our formative years. Young people work disproportionately in retail, hospitality and tourism – these sectors have been devastated by the fallout of the virus. Unemployment among those aged 15-24 in Ireland is estimated at 51 per cent compared to 26% in the population generally before the October ‘level 5’ lockdown. Economic scarring results in young people who leave school or college in recessions being doomed to occupy a lower wage bracket for the entire duration of their careers compared with those who graduate in more economically favourable times. According to Irish Times economist, David McWilliams: “When American baby boomers (born 1946-1964) hit a median age of 35 in 1990, they collectively owned 21 per cent of the wealth. By contrast, my generation, the Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) who collectively turned 35 in 2008, owned just 9 per cent of American national wealth. The Millennials (born 1981-1996), are on average 31 now. They only own 3 per cent of America’s wealth. It’s hard to see them ever catching up under present policies”. Over four in ten younger adults in the CSO’s Social Impact of Covid-19 Survey reported that the pandemic had a negative financial impact on them, compared to two in ten of respondents aged 70 and over. Leaving Cert 2020 has been an infamous debacle: students were robbed of experiences previously taken for granted, tirelessly rehearsed plays were never staged, hours of training and tactics for sports finals went to waste and the concept of a graduation ceremony to celebrate and even say goodbye to their friends was unthinkable. They then had to endure the distorted calculation of grades, compounded by fundamental data errors and revisions: a disgraceful experience for these individuals to be forced to undergo at a stage in life where pressure has always been notoriously heaped on them. For those who then made it to college the would-be ‘college experience’ has been utterly diminished by the virtualisation of lectures, reducing education to academia, which should be merely one facet of this varied, enriching time. Young people work disproportionately in retail, hospitality and tourism – these sectors have been devastated by the fallout of the virus. Playing or watching live sports have been almost eliminated. Night-life is entirely gone with no promise of a future for an unprecedented amount of time. Forming new friendships and relationships is almost impossible, and temporary emigration has become impracticable. This demographic have endured “by far the biggest well-being hit of anybody who hasn’t directly suffered from the disease”, confirms the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit. When America’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention carried out a survey this summer, it found that one
