If you are not able to leave home, it can result in feelings of loneliness. Many young people experienced this and felt at the mercy of events. Covid-19 caused and is continuing to cause major uncertainty: many young people felt at the mercy of events. What now? What happens next? This is particularly true of young people with plans to do something new: change school, move to university or into professional life, spend a year abroad. What will happen?

School leavers were plagued with worries of forever being marked out as the year group that had it easy in their end-of-school exams due to the pandemic. The situation was already very difficult for these young people: the technical equipment for digital learning was not always ideal. Sometimes there were no classes at all – students were simply given tasks that they had to complete themselves. Stays abroad were out of the question. In addition, many realised the danger that the pandemic could trigger an economic crisis, and thus high levels of youth unemployment. This and the fear of being in a poor financial position in the future had a negative impact on their well-being.

During the lockdown, many young people often spent a lot of time at home with their family – where they found a good balance for the most part: they felt calm. Conversations with parents and siblings helped them deal with the new situation, meaning that the pandemic also had some definitely positive aspects for them. This section examines uncertainties, worries, but also the positive aspects from during the pandemic.