Managing through uncertain times: A study to understand the effects of conducting socio-academic life online during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused uncertainty and disruptions in daily life. It has mandated social distancing and online education. Teens are spending a significant amount of time online and less time on extracurricular activities including team sports, choir/orchestra, and school socials. The cancellation of SAT, the switch to online AP exams, and the Credit/No Credit policy for 2nd-semester all contribute to the uncertainty in students regarding their future. Our project aims to create a survey that seeks opinions from teens about how they are managing with online socialization, the effectiveness of the online school, and stress levels. Using convenience sampling, adolescents (n = 168) were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. Participants were asked about the effectiveness of online socializing, online education, hobbies, and extracurriculars to determine stress levels. We looked at models with two dependent stress variables: “low energy, insomnia and headache” and “forgetfulness and disorganization”. We used descriptive, regression, and correlation analysis to assess what the predictors of anxiety and stress are. Results show that stress levels are highly correlated with online exposure, online schooling, the credit/no credit, and home environment. The purpose of this study is to help school communities and leaders understand the effects on teens during the shelter in place order and identify areas of improvement in socio-academic life. Further studies need to be conducted to follow up with the findings of this project.