Natalie Sanchez heard the term from her children when their birthday parties were canceled. This was more than just a disappointment. It was the fear that the world we once knew might have changed forever.
"I think it's something that will leave a mark on them. I don't think they will ever forget it. In our life, there was one before and one after this pandemic" - says the mother of three children from Little Rock, Arkansas. When the new coronavirus began to spread, many of us hoped that the shutdowns would be for a very short time.
Now, when 1 year has passed since the start of this worldwide disaster, which has so far claimed more than 2.6 million lives, the discussion has changed. The moments when it looked like it could all be momentary are long gone. Now it is no longer a question of whether this pandemic will dictate the lives of an entire generation. The debate focuses on how this will happen.
Some experts have started to use a new term to talk about the big changes we are experiencing, changes that can cause an impact in the lives of our children and many years after. They have given a new name to the world's youngest generation: Gen C, or the Covid-19 Generation.
"Covid is a major mega-event in human history," says Haim Israel, head of investments at BofA Global Research. It will be the most defining moment for this generation," added Israel. But who is included in the Covid Generation? This term started to appear in media reports from the beginning of the pandemic.
Recently, investment analysts like Israel, and children's rights defenders have tried to use different forms of this phrase. Labeling a generation is not a simple thing. The names we use to describe groups of people born in a certain period can change over time.
Sometimes after what appeared to be a defining event, it later turns out to be less influential than other forces at play, and sometimes after a different term gains ground.
While some experts are using the term "Gen C" to refer to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children, researchers in different fields so far have different definitions of where this generation begins and ends.
Israel's definition of "Generation C" includes children born from 2016 to the mid-2030s, as he says the changes we are seeing are so dramatic that even children born a few years after the end of pandemic will see that event is still dictating their lives.
"They will be different, since now their lives are being shaped by a completely new world," says Israel. Others share different opinions. Thus, a senior adviser at the UN Children's Fund said that this definition should include all children.
A sociology professor says that university students should not be excluded there either. While a mental health expert pointed out that the most affected are children aged 7-9 years. Everyone agrees that we need to keep a close eye on what is happening to children, and that children born during the pandemic are an important part of this generation.
"The first 1000 days of a child are very vital for their development," says Jennifer Requejo, a senior health advisor at UNICEF. "While countries are focusing on a response to this pandemic, it is important that they do not forget these periods of time that are very delicate for young children," she adds.
Sanchez says she worries her 3-year-old and 6-year-old sons will be emotionally overwhelmed when they return to school. "I'm afraid they're just becoming more anti-social," she says. But on the other hand, he also sees a positive side of this situation. "My hope is that they will be a stronger generation, as we have been through a lot during the year," Sanchez said.
Frank Danko, 27, a supermarket manager in New York, says his family spent much more time together because of the pandemic than they would have otherwise been able to. This gave him the chance to spend more time with his daughter Adriana, who is now almost 9 months old.
"No matter what happens next, Adriana and other members of her generation will experience it together. Whatever the world is, my daughter will grow up," he says. We don't know what the world will be like after the pandemic. Maybe it would take months, years or even decades to figure it out.
But we know that parents are worried, and children are the most vulnerable to psychological problems. The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics warns that what started as a public health emergency has turned into a mental health crisis for children and adolescents.
But the researchers say that just dissecting the problems of the present is not the only way to think about the future of the Covid Generation. Because there is still much we can learn from the past. Jonathan Comer, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Florida International University, has studied the effects on children of the 11/XNUMX terrorist attacks and those at the Boston Marathon.
"It is too early to say what the general character of this generation will be like, and how the mental health of this generation will be affected in the long run. But it seems that there will not be a universal character of the personality, because the burden of these times is not shared equally" - he emphasizes
Mental health experts agree that the way parents are behaving in this situation has a big impact on children, especially younger children. Israel, a Bank of America financial analyst, has spent a lot of time reflecting on what the future will look like.
And he himself is an optimist. "To be honest, I envy the Covid Generation. I think they will live in an interesting world," he says. Israel predicts that the changes we have already seen will accelerate in the next generation. For example, Generation C will have the opportunity to work anywhere in the world, but without leaving the comfort of his home. /CNN – Bota.al/
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