The kids are bored, survey finds
8 weeks into lockdown, Canadian children say online learning is lacking
Bored.
That was the most commonly used word by Canadian children responding to a survey asking them to describe how they’ve been faring during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Seventy-one per cent confessed to boredom, eight weeks after society’s shutdown, while 41 per cent said they felt “normal,” the second most popular response. (Thirty-three per cent described themselves as lonely.) Older kids were more likely than younger ones to describe themselves as “angry” and “hopeless.”
“As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread, the lives of most Canadians have changed. Canada’s kids have been isolated from friends and extended family and held home from school for nearly two months,” the Angus Reid Institute wrote in a summary, released Monday, accompanying a breakdown of the survey’s questions and answers.
“The Angus Reid Institute decided to go straight to these children to better understand what their hopes and worries are amid the unprecedented shutdown.” Six hundred and fifty children aged 10 to 17 were surveyed with the consent of their parents.
Among the survey’s key findings:
Seventy-five per cent of those surveyed said they were keeping up with online classes, but six in ten said they dislike it and are unmotivated.
Missing out on the next school year was the top worry for 29 per cent of the kids.
Twelve per cent said they had experienced “tension or arguments” at home.
Not seeing friends topped the list of the downside of being homebound, and one in four said their friendships have deteriorated.
Half of the kids surveyed said they are at least a little worried about getting COVID-19.
The non-profit organization conducted the online survey May 1-4. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.