Think about the Disney film Frozen. Many people claim that the movie was released five to six years ago when it was actually released over ten years ago in 2013. According to, Is the 2020 Time Effect Real? by Ms. Juliana Burke, this feeling is caused by the “2020 Effect”: a societal-wide misperception of time due to a period of isolation.
The COVID-19 lockdown imposed a halt on our daily activities. We were stuck at home, the days fused into one another. Although years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic, our subjective view of time has been influenced by the lack of new memories and experiences. After living consistently in a state of stillness for almost two years, the absence of new experiences led to the changing speed of time from a subjective glance. The COVID-19 isolation has impacted everyone’s opinions and perceptions of time. Some perceive time as moving faster, while others say that time has slowed down.
Many EHS students have been affected by the “2020 Effect,” especially regarding the speed of the school years. Students have had differing experiences with the COVID-19 isolation, contributing to the differing views of time. Some students stated that the years after the pandemic made them feel as if they were racing through time, while some said that they felt no difference. After conducting a poll of 57 EHS students, 74% of students said that they felt as if time was moving faster post-COVID-19, while 26% of students said that they felt no difference in the speed of time.
By attending school, students learn to communicate and socialize. During isolated periods of time, many teenage students saw a shift in their social lives, the change often being negative. However, the pandemic made students have to work harder to maintain relationships and online school made connecting with others difficult. Student’s personalities and behaviors have changed. Since the pandemic took place during the crucial years of adolescence, student development was impacted.
“I think the pandemic definitely impacted the personalities of people because people didn’t interact with each other,” said Ambar Phatak ‘27. “People are still at the maturity level as they were pre-COVID.”
Since our lives “shut down,” the lack of social interaction truly impacted our brains and personality. In Knock the Rust off Your Social Skills After Pandemic Setbacks, nonfiction science author Molly Chiu, with a bachelor’s degree in English, explains that during the pandemic, people missed out on developing key social skills. Because of the lack of development during this period, many people seem the same as their previous selves. Currently, we see that more students are getting into trouble more than ever before, and the pandemic may have played a key role in this.
According to the survey, students that are currently seniors were more likely to feel that time is moving relatively slow when compared to pre-COVID. 10 out of 14 seniors said that they felt time was moving slower compared to 8 out of 43 students in other grades. Since seniors have stayed in the same school for the duration of the pandemic (their freshman year was online), time may seem to be moving at a slow pace.
“I wouldn’t say time is moving faster,” said Owen Chan ‘24. “It actually felt slower after the pandemic, everything was moving slower, and teachers and students were adjusting to the norm.”
To the contrary, freshmen have been in three different schools during the pandemic: elementary, middle, and high school. These changes in the environment may be the key factor to the increased speed of time. Since the surroundings have changed so much for freshmen, the comparison to the space they were in at the beginning of COVID-19 seems very distant from where they are now.
“It seems that time flew by ever since the COVID-19 Pandemic. I was in 5th grade when we first went into lockdown, and now I am a freshman in high school,” said Xavier Chung ‘27.
The 2020 effect serves as a reminder that humans should be open to change. As the times change, we have to change and grow with it. Living in the past will only prove to be a hindrance. From either perspective, whether time was moving faster or slower, everyone was required to adapt to our changing ways of life, whether that be wearing a mask, completing school online, or quarantining at home. As our lives slowly transition to normalcy, it seems that we are starting to feel the consequences of the pandemic through our perception of time.
“I feel like it is all down to the mindset; if you live in the moment then it’s gonna go by slower, but if you’re constantly like ‘go, go, go,’ then everything will seem as if it is moving faster. I am going to try living in the moment,” said Aleena Perez ‘27.
Being present in moments will significantly aid the feeling that time is fleeing. It might seem as if we never have enough time, but we have to make the most of what is given to us. Students in high school tend to be constantly planning for the future, stressing about grades, colleges, and clubs. Remember, this period in our lives will be missed by our future selves. Why not make the most of it?
