Every generation has its own name and meaning: Gen Z, Gen Y, Gen X, Baby Boomers, etc.

The coming generation has a new name: Gen C, or Generation COVID, and the reason behind the name is evident.

We have been battling this pandemic for one long year.

When schools were first shuttered in March of last year, no one imagined that we wouldn’t step onto our school campuses even to this day. No one imagined that students would be separated from teachers, friends separated from friends, and classroom doors closed for this long.

But, that is the way it all became. And to this day, that is the way it currently is.

High school students across the country have missed out on their senior events, school dances, sporting and club events. But elementary school students have missed out on something even larger than that: their social interactions.

School has been proven to be a place where one learns the basics of what are known as “social skills,” or abilities to communicate and interact with the rest of society.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have been closed, leaving one option for all of the little ones: to join their kindergarten, first, and second-grade classes from home, experiencing it all through a computer screen.

These young toddlers and children whose first years in life have been spent at home, are who make up Gen-C, or Generation COVID.

Experts say that the first five years of life are known to be the most important for development, and the lack of socialization amongst Gen-C concerns some scientists. Some believe that social interaction is necessary for a good education, and that distance learning just isn’t making the cut.

But despite the difficulties and struggles of technology, kindergarteners and many other young students across the globe have been chiming in through Zoom, Google Meet, and other apps to join their class online.

Devoted teachers across the globe are also putting forth their best efforts through this crisis, with teachers finding fun, interactive ways for children to learn through their screen.

And despite the drawbacks of the loss of social interactions amongst young kids of today’s era, some say that the kids of Gen-C will become more resilient, having made it through a tough year.

“The comeback is always stronger than the setback.”