How will our teens remember the Covid pandemic?

How will our teens remember the Covid pandemic?

Generation Z are strangely nostalgic. Even though they’ve got the latest in technology and more choice of online entertainment than ever before, they’re still obsessed with Friends, Brat Pack movies and Leonardo DiCaprio in his prime. They’re choosing Polaroid cameras over the latest amazing phone cameras and channelling all things 90s. So, it seems pretty likely that in years to come, they’ll be telling their own teens nostalgically all about living through a pandemic.

Especially as it’s impacting the lives of the younger generation more than most…

Gen Z expert Jason Dorsey, of The Center for Generational Kinetics, says: “This is their ‘where were you then’ moment. This is the first one that they are experiencing on their journey to, or while entering, adulthood.”

Dr Tuomo Kuosa, of Futures Platform, goes even further: “Especially for those members of Gen Z who are now in their teens, an event like this at such a sensitive age will shape their identity and worldview for the rest of their lives.”

We could write a blog post about the impact that the pandemic will have on our teens (and we probably will!). Is it going to make them more risk-averse? Or are they going to benefit from the world working out how to rapidly change and adapt, especially in the workplace? But this time we’re taking a more light-hearted look at the ‘quarantine trends’ that have swept through our lives over the last year.

Our teens might not have learnt to knit, or bake banana bread or fostered a dog. But we’re pretty sure there are trends they’ve been part of and that they’ll remember:

• Zoom

From online lessons to family quiz nights, it’s hard to believe that this time a year ago, few teens were familiar with Zoom.

• Lockdown looks

Haircuts! Whether it was an emergency buzz cut or just a home haircut gone terribly wrong, the photos of 2020 are going to be ones to look back and laugh at. Add in the fact that most of our teens pretty much wore PJs or joggers for a whole year (sometimes at the same time!) and you can be sure that lockdown style will be a future topic of discussion.

• Tik Tok

How many of you were roped into family dances back in spring 2020? Tik Tok has launched a whole load of quarantine crazes that have kept us all entertained in lockdown.

• Among Us

This took the online world by storm at a time when every teen was looking for something new. We reckon seeing those little characters in years to come will bring back a whole heap of memories.  Truly the game of 2020!

• The same menu every day

If your teens are like ours and their friends, they’ll have eaten pretty much exactly the same breakfast and lunch for a whole year. Something they can make themselves, that they love and that doesn’t require thought. Food is always a nostalgic subject, so we think that this will be one they don’t forget even when they get back to normality.

• Netflix (of course)

Tiger King, The Last Dance – with movie releases cancelled, Netflix shaped family viewing for so many of us. The top series of 2020 will forever be linked with lockdown…

• Home workouts

Our teens might have been too old for ‘PE with Joe’ but keeping fit at home was still very much a focus for anyone missing their usual activities. Improvised family fitness workouts, long walks, emergency purchases of home gym equipment – our teens learned to make do with what they had and very often embraced it. All those charity challenges!

• Board games

We’ve said it before but having our teens at home has meant a lot more lovely family time. Board games new and old have been one of the surprise hits of lockdown.

• Fortnite

Well, online gaming in general. That joyous sound of our teens chatting and laughing when playing with their mates online… We never thought we’d welcome online time so much!

We’re pretty sure that in 20 years’ time, they’ll be telling their own teens about how they survived lockdown and that at least a few of the trends from this list will be part of the story. We do hope so, and that they will look back and remember that lockdown wasn’t all missed opportunities and isolation.

How will your teens remember the Covid pandemic? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Louise & Anna x