The COVID Generation Is Screwed...

Описание: The COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged school closures devastated children's education, mental health, and long-term futures in ways that are still unfolding years later. In this Mind Matter video, we dive deep into the evidence showing massive learning losses—equivalent to months or even years of schooling—widened inequalities, rising anxiety/depression, and potentially permanent damage to a generation.
From global studies to real-world data, the numbers are staggering: kids lost foundational skills, test scores plummeted, and vulnerable students suffered the most. Remote learning couldn't replace in-person instruction, and the fallout includes lower lifetime earnings, increased mental health struggles, and disrupted development.
Key sources and studies referenced:
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Engzell et al. (2021) – Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic (PNAS): https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas... (estimated ~0.08 SD loss, equivalent to one-fifth of a school year, with larger impacts on disadvantaged students).
Betthäuser et al. (2023) – Systematic review and meta-analysis in Nature Human Behaviour: Children lost about 35% of a normal school year's learning globally.
World Bank analysis (2024): Significant drops in student learning outcomes, with economic consequences costing trillions in lifetime earnings: https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/educat....
UNICEF reports (2022 onward): Scale of education loss "nearly insurmountable," with up to 70% of 10-year-olds in low/middle-income countries unable to read simple text post-pandemic; major mental health impacts including increased anxiety/depression: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases... and https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-....
Additional key reviews: Hammerstein et al. (2021), Farrell et al. (2023), and recent 2024-2025 analyses confirming persistent gaps (e.g., NWEA reports on stalled recovery, NAEP "Nation’s Report Card" showing ongoing deficits in reading/math).
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These sources highlight how school shutdowns caused irreversible harm in many cases, especially for low-income and marginalized kids—despite massive recovery spending in some places.
Credits:
The following Video Was mostly created by me
Written By: Nicolas Nelson
Edited By: Nicolas Nelson
Voice Over By: Nicolas Nelson
Animations: Nicolas Nelson
Music: Epidemic Sound

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