[dramatic music]

(Describer) Titles appear over computer generated images of the rotating earth and the Covid 19 virus. Barbara Harrison Media. Kids speak out. Today.

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(Describer) Coronavirus. Covid 19. A floating medical capsule spills its contents.

(Describer) Episode 9.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Kids Speak Out," conversations with kids across the country and around the world about things that they're interested in. I'm Barbara Harrison, and today we're talking again about fears and anxieties about the pandemic, about the future, and we're going to continue that conversation. We have Dr. Josh Weiner with us. Let's say hello to him again. Thanks for having me back, Barbara. I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody again, all the kids who were on the previous episode, and learning more about what's going on in everybody's lives. And let's welcome back our panel in the gallery. Who's with us today? Hi, my name's Tom. I'm 17, from Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Hi, my name's Katherine. I'm 14 years old, and I live in Florence, Italy. Hi, my name's Lulu, and I'm from Yorkshire, England. Hi, my name's Pedro, I'm 17 years old, and I live in Vancouver, Canada. Hi, I'm Rachel. I'm 19 years old, and I live in Shanghai, China. Hi, I'm Johanna, I'm 18 years old, and I'm from Takoma Park, Maryland. Hi, I'm George. I'm 16, and I'm from London, England. Hi, I'm Brooke, I'm 16, and I'm from Sausalito, California. Hi, I'm Charlotte, I'm 17, and I'm from Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Hi, my name is Miles. I'm 17, and I'm from Kensington, Maryland. Hi, I'm Alexander or Alex. I'm 18 years old, and I'm from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I think that there have been a lot of changes in the last few weeks in, uh, countries across the world. Maybe we should find out-- let's start with you Catherine. What is the situation in Florence right now? Yesterday was the first day we were allowed to go out for a walk, or run, or a bike ride. So are the shops open, restaurants, in Florence now? The restaurants have now allowed, uh, pickup, so takeout, delivery food. Before it was only-- you would only be allowed to get food delivered from the restaurant to your house. But now it's another reason to go outside. Tom, what about in Stratford-upon-Avon, where a lot of people probably like to come in the spring to Shakespeare's hometown? Are things open? Can you move around? So we--it's not been quite as draconian as in Italy. So we--we've always been allowed to go out for one walk a day, or a run, or a bike, or something like that. But because it's such, like, a tourist-y place, it's really, really quiet because obviously, people can't travel. So it--I've never seen town so deserted. You know, I think one of the things that a lot of people think is that young people aren't taking this stuff seriously enough and that because they're not maybe all that worried about the health implications for themselves and that, really, the big issue is the young people inadvertently passing it on to people who are more susceptible to the virus. I'm wondering whether you guys feel like your friends, or other-- people that you guys know, whether you're seeing a lot of people not taking it very seriously. Or maybe some of you really don't think it's all that serious, and that you should be able to hang out with groups of friends. I certainly know that I am seeing, where I live, I'm seeing young kids congregating, certainly not social distancing, and I think they just think, "Eh, it's no big deal. We're going to be fine."

(Describer) George.

I think that there's, like, a part of that. But most young-- like, most kids our age, we've got grandparents, so everyone knows how it feels that you have to, like, try and protect the elderly, 'cause, you know, for example, my grandma, whenever I go and visit her, I have to stay-- I stay in just outside her house, and she stays on her doorstep and we can talk, but we have to stay a decent distance away. So yeah, there are kids that I know who aren't respecting the rules. But I do think that the great majority here, at least, are trying to respect them because they know that they have people close to them that could be affected by that. Pedro, how about you? Well, here, at least from my school, I can see that the great majority, they are not respecting the rules. They haven't been from the start. That's just sort of the-- they are right-- The...adults are right when they say that the teenagers are not respecting rules here because that they really aren't, too. I go biking with my friends once in a while, which we're allowed to do. And you can see all the kids, uh, not social distancing at the beach, or they're all going to someone's house. They really are not having that much moderation. And it's weird, 'cause a lot of them live with their grandparents. So I don't know what they're thinking. But yeah. Good question. You know, I think in China, in Shanghai, things are opening up now-- is that right, Rachel? Want to tell us about what--what life is like for you now there? Yeah, um, Shanghai, especially, out of all the places in China, is really ahead of the curve. And people are definitely really careful, but in a different way. Life is pretty much back to normal in terms of going outside, and, like, hanging out with friends. But people are always wearing masks, even when they're inside. And... the Chinese government is really strict about contact tracing, so everyone is tracked by an app. So if you've been around someone who has the virus, your, uh, code goes red, and you're not allowed in places, and you get--I think you get sent to a facility if that happens, but I'm not sure. But if your code is green, you're allowed to, like, go into restaurants. And, yeah, people go to work, school is opening up. Is anybody angry about having to do the social distancing? I'm not really angry that I'm not able to see my friends, or that we have to social distance. I'm more frustrated that my parents, as well as some other parents, still have to work. So they can't social distance themselves. And I think it's really important, depending on what your parents are doing. So if they're really taking it strictly and social distancing, then the kids are going to as well. But if the parents are going out to work and everything, then the kids may be a bit more lax than others. So are you saying that if you have parents who are going to work and not able to social distance, as a result of that, you kind of feel like it's hard for them to then demand that of you? Or is it also--or are there more anxieties that you have or worries about them because they're not able to social distance, and then does that make you worried about them transmitting it to you in any way? Or not really? I'm not really worried about them transmitting it to me. I'm just worried for their health in general. But then if they say to you, "Hey, you can't go out. "You're not allowed to go out. I don't want you being around a bunch of people," Do you then say, "Well, wait a minute, "this isn't fair, you're around people all day. Why do I have to do this?" Well, either way, I think I would like to stay away from people, um, in general right now. I'm not really in a situation where I think it would be fair to put myself in a crowd of people. No one that I'm around wants to be put in a crowd of people. So I'm thinking more for my family's health's sake. Not for mine. You know, I'm curious, you know, in general, I think it sounds like everybody who's participating in today's conversation really is taking this pretty seriously, for the most part. Is anybody angry, or would you admit it? Yeah, I think what-- what's frustrating, and I guess makes me a bit angry, is seeing people so, like, obviously disregarding, like, the social distancing, like, rules, and putting other people in danger. So there was a protest outside Scotland Yard, the U.K., like, police headquarters. Basically people who are saying, you know, "We want our freedoms back.' Having, like, friends with parents in like the healthcare sectors, and them telling me about all the horrors that they've gone through and stories and how much it affects families that have lost, you know, 27,000 deaths in my country, like, it's--it's a huge deal. Like, it really upsets me and makes me quite angry to see people just with no regard for how their actions affect other people, I guess. You guys might not be aware of this, so generally, about 20% of the population that is exposed to a trauma will go on to develop PTSD. So you know, you could think about all these ER workers, firefighters, EMTs, et cetera, who are seeing these horrible things. Roughly 20% of them are going to end up with post-traumatic stress disorder. So you are talking about a lot of people. Now, I don't know--I don't expect that there's going to be a lot of people sort of in the general community who are going to, uh, have an increase in mental health issues. But I certainly think these first responders, who are in these really difficult situations-- we're going to see that coming out over the next several months, I predict. Anybody come up with, uh, a way to have a happy hour or something that, uh, you really enjoy doing? It looks like Pedro is ready to tell us. So me and my friends kind of to avoid the topic of COVID, we play video games every day from 9:00 on.

(Pedro) So we kind of do our homework since now it's exam time. And then we go on to play a big group of people, like, 15 people together in a big call and it's just really fun. My class has been doing movie nights every Friday from 7:00 to 10:00, and it's a whole class Zoom call. And we all go on and watch a movie together. I'm curious whether any of you guys feel like your anxiety has really reached a level of concern, or whether you have any friends where you've seen this happen, where you really are starting to think, "Maybe they really need to seek some help. This is really getting out of control with their anxiety." Yeah, I think that, at least for me, I've noticed my anxiety has gone up so much more. And, like, with everything, even just getting on a Zoom call just on time it just feels like, oh my gosh, I need to get, like, the link, and I need to get on as fast as possible. Everything just feels so much more stressful. And, um, luckily, our school still allows us to meet with our school counselors. So that's been helpful for me to, still once a week, to talk with our school counselor on a Zoom call, and just talk everything out. 'Cause sometimes I just need to, like, say everything, but I also don't want to be complaining to my friends 24/7, 'cause I think we're all a little bit sick of hearing about it. So just to talk to someone who's just going to listen to you just feels nice sometimes.

(Harrison) There are so many things happening in the world today that you want and need to talk about. Hi, I'm Charlotte. My name is Sriya. I'm Isabella.

(Harrison) Ask a question, share an opinion, and hear those of others. Minorities are on the lower end of the spectrum... It's just hideous.

(Harrison) For more information, go to www.kidsspeakout.me. One thing that, again, I'm seeing a lot of with my patients, particularly college age and high school age kids, is their sleep schedules are completely out of whack, right? So they're going to bed at 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, sleeping until noon, 'cause you have so-- really no routine for the most part. Of course, you might have classes and things like that, potentially. I'm wondering if you guys are having those same challenges. And I think one thing I'm finding definitely is that it's annoying the parents a lot that they're seeing their kids have these shifts in their sleep schedule. So can anyone identify with that kind of challenge? Yeah, so I already suffer with insomnia and stuff like that. So my sleep schedule's already messed up. And this came in and totally threw it away. Like, some nights, I'm not sleeping. Some days, I'm sleeping late. It's just a mess. Isabella? So when I--when we started doing virtual learning, they changed all of our classes to try to be more accommodating for people's time zone schedules. And so, like, people in California don't have to wake up at 5:00 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. class or something like that. But what ended up happening is I'm an hour, um... I dunno how to--an hour after everyone. An hour later, then. Yeah, I'm an hour later. And so my class is, like, my earliest class is at 12:00, at noon. And so I've started waking up much later than I usually do, 'cause I used to have an 8:00 a.m., and now my 8:00 a.m.'s at 11:00 a.m. And it's asynchronous-- I don't even have to wake up that early. And so I've totally changed my schedule from having to go to bed way earlier and wake up at 7:00 to just waking up at like 11:00 or 11:30 for my 12:00 a.m. class-- or 12:00 p.m. class. So that's really-- I'm like totally at a different time of the day. Like, I used to go to bed at, like, 10:00 p.m. Now I'm staying up till 1:00. It's a totally different part of the night for me. What about the fact that we have a whole new language, Dr. Josh? "Synchronous" and "asynchronous" classes. I mean, I-I had to scratch my head thinking, now, what exactly does that mean? Well, I've finally, having talked to so many young people with "Kids Speak Out", I understand. Asynchronous means that, what? You don't have to be there at the time of the class, is that right? You guys are napping during the day?

(Describer) Brooke.

I nap so much more, it's crazy. Like, I never took naps. Now I just like-- I was saying I feel like I understand what it feels like to be a dog in the house, like...

(Brooke) all the time.

(Describer) George.

I've found myself a lot more restless. Because normally I'm able to, like, I'm doing things all the way through the day. I'm, like, quite an active person so I end up doing like a lot of steps and things like that. So I find myself a lot more tired at night when I'm--when I've been out of quarantine. But in quarantine, like, apart from being able to do, you know, we're allowed to go on a run, or go outside, or do some form of sport-- apart from that, I find myself stuck inside a lot or, you know, not being able to move, so I've found myself a lot less tired at night, which means that I, you know, when I'm at school, if I'm really whacked, then I'll just have a nap in the middle of the day, but at the moment, I haven't really found myself doing that 'cause I'm just not that tired all the time.

(Harrison) There are so many things happening in the world today that you want and need to talk about. -Hi, I'm Charlotte. -My name is Sriya. -I'm Isabella. -Hi, I'm Nequille.

(Harrison) We invite students from around the world to speak up, to ask questions or offer opinions on a topic of the day. It's just hideous.

(Harrison) For more information, go to www.kidsspeakout.me. Yeah, absolutely, I'm seeing that. I think a lot of people, besides just not having sort of a regular schedule, because they're not as active during the day, they're just not as tired at night. And that just then perpetuates this getting off schedule and getting off their routine. Does anyone feel like it's such a problem that they want to find a way to do something about this? Like some of the things that I'll recommend to some of my patients would be things like guided meditation--I don't know whether any of you guys have any experience with that. There's some really cool apps like "Calm" or "Headspace," that can help you calm down at night and help you fall asleep. Or maybe some of you have heard of or taken melatonin, which is a natural supplement that can kind of help regulate your sleep schedule. Anyone utilizing any of those sorts of things?

(Describer) Pedro.

Well, uh, I tried melatonin, because my parents gave it to me once 'cause I couldn't sleep, so that worked. Obviously, you're going to have to check with your parents, if you're under 18 or something like that. I've been using, um, a diffuser and an eye mask, which has been helping me a lot. And, um, just trying to stay really active throughout the day as much as I can also-- well, throughout the night, also helps, yeah. Just out of curiosity, what are you us-- are you using, like, a lavender diffuser or some sort of essential oil?

(Describer) Rachel.

Yeah, it's an essential oil. It's kind of like citrus-y. Yeah. It's really helping. Just like a few drops on my pillow. I've--I've heard other patients say things like that. So there's, you know, some data actually to back that up, and particularly with lavender oil. So I'm curious, actually, whether there are some things that you guys have found that's been nice about this whole experience.

(Describer) Charlotte.

Like my relationship with my sister is strained at times. So I think it's just nice to kind of-- being in isolation with her. I think like you said with your kids, it's being forced to get along. And yet, even though we're kind of at each other's necks sometimes, it's, you know, I think it's less now than it was perhaps, you know, four months ago, perhaps. It's just nice to, like, spend more time with my family as well since-- So it's really nice just to be able to be with my family for probably the last time in a while after this. Except for summer vacation, but I'm usually not-- we're usually not all together in the same space. But it's been really nice. It's also bringing, at least my college community, a lot closer, even though we're so far away from each other. And I've actually managed to make new friendships online with people that I was only acquainted with. Rachel, how about you? Not particularly. I definitely don't think I ever want to go through this ever again. I was just thinking, Josh, here we are with a group of, uh, young people. We haven't talked about anything funny or fun. Anything that you've heard that's really been fun or anything that just makes you happy.

(Describer) Miles.

Have you guys seen, like, Cardi B's coronavirus remix? That's being sent around and is making, like, everyone laugh during this.

(Describer) Cardi B appears.

♪ Coronavirus! ♪

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♪ Coronavirus! ♪

♪ Coronavirus! ♪

♪ Guess what, Bs? ♪

♪

So she was doing this rant where she was, like, yelling about coronavirus and someone, like, took it and made a song out of it. And she's, like, using the money from the song to donate to coronavirus research which is really nice.

♪ Guess what, Bs? ♪

♪

So I think we all learned a lot today. We thank our panel for sharing so many of their experiences. And Dr. Josh, we thank you so much for being with us and offering your sage advice. We hope all of you out there learned something today, and we look forward to having you back with us. Until then, though, you can find out what we're doing by going to our website kidspeakout.me. Until we see you next time, have a great week and stay safe.

[dramatic music]

(Describer) Titles appear over computer generated images of the rotating earth and the Covid 19 virus. Barbara Harrison Media. Kids speak out. Today.

♪

(Describer) Coronavirus. Covid 19. A floating medical capsule spills its contents. Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.