Monday, November 16, 2020

German Kids and 'Cabin-Fever'

 A couple of weeks ago, I watched a public TV interview (7-minute piece) where kid #1 had been diagnosed with Covid-19 (probably around 10 years old).  Because of state regulations....kid #2, kid #3, mom, and dad were on quarantine as well.  They were all nearing the last day or two of this, and some type of interview was worked up with the reporter/camera-guy standing a good 2-to-3 meters away in the backyard.

Mom was somewhat upbeat....it was all coming to an end.  Dad was doing home-office and stayed busy (hidden would be an appropriate word).  

The older kid....son, around 15 years old....was obviously peeved by the restrictions and limited contact with his friends.  He wasn't a happy camper, and of the group....mentally, I think he suffered more. 

The German news crowd, since March, have told literally hundreds of stories.  Some people have done well in quarantine, some have had a pretty crappy experience.  For these kids?  If you didn't have cellphones, Facebook, WhatsApp, and NetFlix?  I suspect it'd be a pretty ugly mess for a lot of these 13-to-16 year old kids.

If one looks at summer of 2021....the arrival of the vaccine....the cutback of vacation restrictions, and bans decreasing in nature....this cabin-fever trend will quietly go away.  Remembering this period?  I think all of these kids will talk about this thirty years in the future, and remember the 18-month period as a pretty serious/rough period in their life.

For some, they might even classify it as the biggest negative event in German history....since the end of WW II.  

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