En kvalitativ undersøgelse af danske gymnasiestuderendes oplevelser af fælleskaber, hverdagsliv & mental sundhed
In this project have I investigated how the young high school age population in Denmark has experienced and coped with a different everyday life during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, several major impacts was done from a government and world leaders chair. Traveling got restricted. The nightlife was shut down, the cafes and restaurants was shut down, and for a longer time period everyone had to work from home, this is referred as the “lockdown”. This raises the question what possible consequences the lockdowns have had for young people in high school ages mental wellbeing. What I have done through qualitative research interviews is to find 3 informants through several sources like Facebook and networking through the municipality and private contacts. The young people who I was looking for, and found, all have in common that they are attending high school. What was interesting to discover was that they all have experienced difficulties during the pandemic. Some of the difficulties involved the limiting of socializing with friends and family, and problem of getting new friends when starting in a new school. But there are also benefits like the realization of getting closer to the friends that you do keep in contact with during the lockdown, if it is on an online platform, through video games, or it is outdoors in person. Theoretically have I used expressions regarding social pathologies like Hartmut Rosas theory about acceleration and resonance. How the social acceleration is defined from a constant competition that we must live up to with each other, and how this is broken down during the lockdown. Another is Anders Petersens theory about the performance society and how everyone must achieve certain goals in life to have fulfilled their purpose. On that behalf it’s concluded that the informants way of perceiving their stories about changed relationships to friends, family and the surrounding society, the importance of everyday life, has been different during the two lockdowns. In the first lockdown there was a relief from the social pressure regarding social life but also on the studies, whereas the second challenged the mental pressure of reaching the high bar of the norms because the pressure for achieving was just as high as before the lockdowns. Listening to the challenged youth, and how they experience the lockdowns, can show the changes in society and the consequences, for these individuals.
In this project have I investigated how the young high school age population in Denmark has experienced and coped with a different everyday life during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, several major impacts was done from a government and world leaders chair. Traveling got restricted. The nightlife was shut down, the cafes and restaurants was shut down, and for a longer time period everyone had to work from home, this is referred as the “lockdown”. This raises the question what possible consequences the lockdowns have had for young people in high school ages mental wellbeing.
What I have done through qualitative research interviews is to find 3 informants through several sources like Facebook and networking through the municipality and private contacts. The young people who I was looking for, and found, all have in common that they are attending high school. What was interesting to discover was that they all have experienced difficulties during the pandemic. Some of the difficulties involved the limiting of socializing with friends and family, and problem of getting new friends when starting in a new school.
But there are also benefits like the realization of getting closer to the friends that you do keep in contact with during the lockdown, if it is on an online platform, through video games, or it is outdoors in person.
Theoretically have I used expressions regarding social pathologies like Hartmut Rosas theory about acceleration and resonance. How the social acceleration is defined from a constant competition that we must live up to with each other, and how this is broken down during the lockdown.
Another is Anders Petersens theory about the performance society and how everyone must achieve certain goals in life to have fulfilled their purpose.
On that behalf it’s concluded that the informants way of perceiving their stories about changed relationships to friends, family and the surrounding society, the importance of everyday life, has been different during the two lockdowns. In the first lockdown there was a relief from the social pressure regarding social life but also on the studies, whereas the second challenged the mental pressure of reaching the high bar of the norms because the pressure for achieving was just as high as before the lockdowns. Listening to the challenged youth, and how they experience the lockdowns, can show the changes in society and the consequences, for these individuals.
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Charlotte har især oplevet den anden nedlukning som udfordrende, fordi hun ikke kunne være
sammen med alle på hendes gymnasium. Hun har derimod oplevet at ses med få af hendes venner,
og det har betydet meget for hende at hun ikke måtte tage til fester med sine venner.
“Jeg tror bare det var fordi første nedlukning der så jeg det som en pause fra gymnasium, hvor jeg
skulle være sammen med folk, det var nok derfor jeg ikke synes det var særlig slemt, men den anden
nedlukning, der var jeg inden i sådan en struktur hvor jeg lige pludselig ikke kunne tage ud med
mine venner hver dag og jeg kunne ikke gøre hvad jeg havde lyst til, selvom jeg også havde skole
ved siden af, jeg var lige blevet vant til en struktur hvor jeg endelig kunne have det sjovt, også
kommer der sådan en nedlukning som total destruerer det.” (Charlotte).
Charlotte fortæller er i tråd med det Karolines fortælling ovenfor. Karoline fortæller at hendes egen
opmærksom på sin ”udvikling som menneske” da Karoline er meget opmærksom på at hun har et
socialt behov for at udvikle sig personligt. Karoline synes at det er lige præcis denne periode hun er
i sit liv, at det var nu hun skulle have det sjovt, og være sammen med sine venner for at kunne
udvikle sig som et socialt væsen.
For Lars vedkommende har de ændrede rammer også haft betydning for ham, især i måden han
værdsætter at bruge tid med sine venner, når det endelig har været muligt. Et eksempel for dette
kommer til udtryk da Lars er meget ærlig omkring at det har betydet meget for ham, og været
udfordrende med hjemmeskole, han udtaler i følgende citat;
“(...) fordi før tog man mange ting forgæves, og nu under Corona pandemien, ved man hvor vigtigt
det er at sidde nede i frikvarteret og bare snakke i 10 minutter i stedet for at sidde herhjemme”
(Lars).
Det har en stor betydning for alle informanter at der ikke udføres de normale sociale daglige
gøremål, som eksempelvis at mødes til frikvarter. Denne manglende sociale omgang har givet alle
tre informanter tanker om at værdsætte dagligdagen betydeligt mere.
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