This week, in-person classes resumed. While COVID-19 rears its ugly cough at campuses across the country, many University of Oregon students already doubt the soundness of returning to campus. Nevertheless, the prospect of once again experiencing a real-life classroom environment is thrilling for students after a year’s worth of online lectures — well, for most of them anyway.
Forgoing the precious ritual of camera-off, socially detached Zoom sessions will be no easy feat for students who struggle with social anxiety. Many found strange comfort in Zoom classes, gladly letting a screen separate them from any genuine social interaction or stress; schoolwork was navigable without the compass of conversation, and presenting in class was significantly less frightening. Unfortunately for the students who found solace in this, the screen of comfort is being lifted.
Many also have anxiety about what returning to on-campus courses will look like during a pandemic. UO has a vaccine mandate, masks are required and social-distancing guidelines have been enforced in both classes and other on-campus social hubs. Still, vaccine exemptions remain relatively easy to obtain, and COVID-19 has made heavy and traumatizing impacts on this country –– leaving many individuals fearful to engage in “post-pandemic” life before we are truly out of the pandemic. Similarly, immersing oneself into regular activities, such as participating in sports, going to the movies or traveling creates anxiety over COVID-19 health concerns and over interacting with people again.
As many begin to adjust to life outside of quarantine, social skills are still largely out of practice. Those who followed distancing guidelines or found themselves isolated this past year may fear they’ve forgotten how to interact with strangers. UO psychology professor Phil Fisher has specifically researched the effects of isolation on children’s social and academic skills.
“Those skills don’t just develop in a vacuum,” Fisher said in an article for PBS’ WHYY News. “They develop in the context of being in situations where you have to interact with your peers.”
In a college-age context, the development of these social skills looks a bit different, but the fact that over half of UO’s undergraduate student body have either attended zero in-person courses or less than a year’s worth is noteworthy.
In college, connecting with peers and building lasting friendships is essential. It can also be difficult, and virtual classes have only amplified this issue. Social anxiety affects a large number of young people, and generalized anxiety disorders have skyrocketed throughout the pandemic. Making friends in classes can be hard enough, but for the post-quarantined, socially-unskilled students, the return to in-person learning can be particularly intimidating.
For students struggling with COVID-related anxiety, social anxiety or any other reservations as in-person learning kicks into gear, it’s important that your fears are heard and met with care. It’s the university’s job to acknowledge these concerns, offer resources to students struggling with anxiety and implement the right protocols for student safety during a global pandemic. Both UO’s Counseling Center and Accessible Education Center offer great resources for those who find adjusting to in-person learning difficult. And, for whatever comfort this gives those who are anxious about this return, we may not be doing it for too much longer anyway.