How has Covid-19 Affected Society?

Christian Gonzalez, Staff Writer

Covid-19, a virus that started getting noticed in January 2020, has affected everyone’s lives greatly, and in different ways. It took around 7.46 million lives, and these were all loved ones, or they were cared about in some way. Millions of people worldwide lost people they cared about, whether it be loved ones or just close friends. Covid-19 has affected everyone in many different ways, and they all have their own stories to share. These stories could be about losing a loved one, or they could be about what it’s like to catch this virus.

According to Pew Research Center, “The vast majority of Americans (89%) mentioned at least one negative change in their own lives, while a smaller share (though still a 73% majority) mentioned at least one unexpected upside.” Also from Pew Research Center, “In many ways, the negatives clearly outweigh the positives – an unsurprising reaction to a pandemic that had killed more than 180,000 Americans at the time the survey was conducted.” This goes to show that even though some of the effects of Covid-19 were good, they obviously can’t amount to the negative impacts that Covid-19 has had on society. Also, many people have reported feelings of “psychological distress, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress,” according to the World Health Organization.

Courtesy of the University of Sterling

After the 7th grader Aaron Gonzalez was interviewed, he stated, “I wasn’t terribly affected by Covid-19, it was just the lack of interaction with other people outside of my household. I just longed for interaction with other people.” This goes to show that one of the affected was lack of interaction which could have led to other things, such as depression and anxiety. Also, 7th grader Aaron Chon stated, “It affected me greatly within my education because it was harder to learn while participating in online learning without as much guidance.” He also stated how he wears masks because of Covid, but not as much now, and he had barely touched a mask before Covid. This shows how people also now wear masks because they are wary of their health now because of Covid.

All in all, Covid-19 has affected everyone in many different ways, and this could be from losing a person close to you, such as a loved one or a friend, to wearing a mask every day for different reasons. It affected the population too, by taking the lives of around 7.46 million people. Covid-19 was a very impactful pandemic, and it will be remembered by everyone in this generation. It was a very sad time, but now we have overcome it and have moved on.