This pandemic has changed and impacted a lot of things today. One of the biggest things is we now have to go out with masks and have to put hand sanitizer every so often. Another big impact is that students now have to learn remotely. Now that the pandemic is going on I find myself spending so much time at home. I haven’t been going out to be with my friends, to do sports, to be with family, or just going out in general. I remember thinking before how nice it would be to learn school from home but now that I’m doing remote learning in my opinion I think that remote learning has been one of the hardest things about this pandemic and it has also been one of the most exhausting things about technology today. 

One of the reasons why I think remote learning is one of the most exhausting things about the pandemic and technology is because we can’t go out and do things like we did before. For example we can’t play sports, we can’t see our friends every day like we did in school, we can’t enjoy hanging outside without having a mask or putting hand sanitizer on every so often. I think that Remote learning has affected us in a very negative way. It is very stressful. Students are using too much screen time and it has affected their social and mental health. Although, considering what’s going on with the pandemic and how  dangerous it has been and how fast it is spreading, Staying home can reduce these numbers and keep everyone safe. The amount of hours that we are given to do school on a screen for is too much. It has affected students in a negative way. Remote learning is very dreadful because this is new for almost all of us in having to be on a screen for hours a day is tiring. In the article Children’s Screen Time Has Soared in the Pandemic, Alarming Parents and Researchers by Matt Richel it says “Children turn to screens because they say they have no alternative activities or entertainment — this is where they hang out with friends and go to school — all while the technology platforms profit by seducing loyalty through tactics like rewards of virtual money or “limited edition” perks for keeping up daily “streaks” of use.”  This evidence shows that children now depend on screens because There’s nothing else to do now that we have a pandemic. I can totally relate and agree with this statement because as a student I feel like I’m constantly on the screen due to remote learning but even afterwards I’m so bored that I turn to technology only because there’s nothing else to do even if I don’t want to. Now I feel like I rarely go out, I feel like I’m always at home. The only time I go out is whenever I need to and if I do go out I’m constantly wearing a mask and putting hand sanitizer on. 

Another reason why I think remote learning is one of the most exhausting things about the pandemic and technology is because based on my own experiences I feel like we’ve gotten more work and homework through remote learning than we did in school. It was so much easier to just be in class, ask questions, physically see our learning, being able to turn and ask our peers for help, being able to interact with other people about the lesson, and just being able to be present inside the classroom was so much easier. Now that we’re in remote learning it’s like we’re constantly being put into breakout rooms by ourselves having to wait for a teacher to come in and help us. Constantly receiving emails and classwork every day nonstop. Having to rush to my work during class so I won’t have homework afterwards. It’s all very exhausting and tiring.  In the article Children’s Screen Time Has Soared in the Pandemic, Alarming Parents and Researchers by Matt Richel it says “These are the tools of their lives,” he said. “Everything they will do, they will do through one of these electronic devices, socialization included.” This evidence is saying that technology has taken a toll in our lives and it’s all we depend on. He refers to it as our “everything “. I can relate to this piece of evidence because everything I do is on a screen now. I socialize with my friends through technology, I socialize with my family members through technology, I go to school through technology, and technology is my way of having “fun “when I’m bored. Before the pandemic I didn’t mind going on my phone, watching TV, and using technology in general because I felt like I didn’t use it that much. Even though people said that I used technology a lot, now that I’m doing remote learning to me technology has been so exhausting. I’m always using my computer more than eight hours a day to do schoolwork. Afterwards I don’t even want to go on my phone or watch TV because just thinking about being on a screen is exhausting to me. Sometimes I go on my phone even though I don’t want to but I do it just because I’m bored and can’t go out and do the things I used to do.

The last reason why I think remote learning is one of the most exhausting things about the pandemic and technology is because now that students are constantly on a screen for hours a day it has led to various health issues. For instance, depression, anxiety, loneliness and so much more. In the article How Social Isolation Is Killing Us by Dhruv Khullar it says “Social isolation is a growing epidemic — one that’s increasingly recognized as having dire physical, mental and emotional consequences. Since the 1980s, the percentage of American adults who say they’re lonely has doubled from 20 percent to 40 percent.” This evidence shows how isolation is increasing as it is, imagine the numbers now that the pandemic has taken a toll in our lives. Based on my own experiences I wouldn’t say I have led to these more serious various health issues but I am concerned about my own health issues. Being on a screen for hours a day has made me lose motivation to wanting to learn. It has been so exhausting that sometimes I don’t even want to join the zoom call. Now that my school has extended the hours it feels even more exhausting, before I got used to ending school at one but now that I’m ending school at three it has really affected my mental health. I’m constantly ending school tired and with headaches due to the fact that I’m on a screen for almost 8 hours a day, sometimes even longer if I have homework to do afterwards which most of the time I do. 

In conclusion, remote learning has been one of the most exhausting things about the pandemic and technology today. I can speak for almost all students when I say that remote learning is not easy. The dreadfulness of getting emails and assignments every day, constantly staring at a screen for hours a day, not being able to interact with others, constantly being put into breakout rooms with no talking and waiting on teachers to get help, long hours of school and lots of homework to do afterwards has taken a huge impact on all students. Repeating the same routine over and over again it’s tiring. It has gotten to the point where it has affected students’ mental health issues. These health issues include anxiety, depression and so much more. Us students are tired, I have gotten to a point where I finish vacation or a small break then the next day I’m counting down for the next one. We all miss being able to go to school and interact with our friends, teachers, being able to do sports and clubs, being able to physically interact whenever we need help, visually seeing our learning, and just being able to go to school every day in general. Many teachers and staff are trying to normalize remote learning for us and To me it’s more upsetting as it reminds me that no matter what you do remote learning isn’t normal for us and how exhausting and tiring it is every single day.