Despite surging virus cases, young people still socializing

Philadelphia announced recently it is halting reopening plans for indoor dining and gyms for at least another month as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise, particularly among young Philadelphians. City data showed that 99 people between ages 16 and 19 tested positive the week of June 14 — more than double what was reported in the previous two weeks. Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said the surge is partly due to teens traveling to the Jersey Shore and socializing.

The increase locally mirrors the case surges among young people in the South and the West, particularly in California, Florida and Texas. And while the elderly usually suffer most from COVID-19’s effects, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that coronavirus hospitalizations for patients ages 18-to-49 have increased from 27% in the week of March 7 to 35% the week of June 20.

“We’re seeing cases here in people, all of which are young people, who are going to the beach and staying in a beach house,” Farley said. “They’re going to restaurants and bars when they travel.”

But getting young people, teenagers in particular, to stop meeting their friends because of the risk of spreading coronavirus can be challenging, psychologists said.

“This is an age group where individuals tend to be focused on immediate rewards and not thinking as much about long-term consequences and costs,” said Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University who studies adolescence. “At this age, individuals are especially responsive to social rewards, and their ability to control their impulses is not as good as it will be when they’re older.”

Steinberg said that even though most teenagers understand the importance of social distancing, the potential of social rewards is more powerful.

Valerie Braunstein, a psychologist in Philadelphia who works with adolescents, said that social distancing requirements have affected teens differently because it is developmentally appropriate for them to prioritize friendships. She said socially distancing from friends has a much more negative emotional toll on teens than adults.

“Their task of development is to create social relationships and work on their own sense of identity and autonomy, so when there are barriers in the way of that healthy developmental goal, that can create negative emotional consequences like anxiety, depression, stress or anger,” Braunstein said. “I think it’s important for everyone to have empathy for that.”

Braunstein recommended parents work with teens to establish alternatives to hanging out with their friends, like making sure they have privacy away from family and giving them space. It’s also important to validate how they’re feeling, she said.

“This is extremely hard on teens because of how social they are,” Steinberg said. “My guess is that most young people know what’s going on and what they’ve been told to do. In some sense, they just can’t help themselves, and it’s an important message to say that in this crisis, the only person who matters is not just you.”