COVID-19 and its impact on education, social life and mental health of students: a survey

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 affected the lives of all sections of society as people were asked to self-quarantine in their homes to prevent the spread of the virus. The lockdown had serious implications on mental health, resulting in psychological problems including frustration, stress, and depression. In order to explore the impacts of this pandemic on the lives of students, we conducted a survey of a total of 1182 individuals of different age groups from various educational institutes in Delhi - National Capital Region (NCR), India. The article identified the following as the impact of COVID-19 on the students of different age groups: time spent on online classes and self-study, medium used for learning, sleeping habits, daily fitness routine, and the subsequent effects on weight, social life, and mental health. Moreover, our research found that in order to deal with stress and anxiety, participants adopted different coping mechanisms and also sought help from their near ones. Further, the research examined the student’s engagement on social media platforms among different age categories. This study suggests that public authorities should take all the necessary measures to enhance the learning experience by mitigating the negative impacts caused due to the COVID-19 outbreak.