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Flaviana Frascogna
This is an ongoing work on adolescents who spared the physical consequences of Covid-19 but not its psychological fallout. Younger people are living in a constant state of alarm that is changing their way of approaching life, due to both the restrictions applied to contain the contagion and the continuous exposure to the fear of death and of disease which could lead to a worsening of anxiety and depression.
The quarantine and the containment measures denied to young people the opportunity to socialize, except through technological channels that cannot replace the real world, neglecting the fragility that is typical of this age.
The project consists of a series of portraits and pictures of places and details of the adolescents’ world. I am asking each subject to answer two questions:
– What do you need?
– What are you afraid of?
I am collecting these answers with audio files in order to in order to associate them to the pictures.
“I am a very rational person and I have had so many difficulties during my growth to try to get rid of all the emotions I feel and that I always tend to hide. I believe that although in some people the virus doesn’t physically settle, it is as if we were all having it and this brought me moods. Often I feel like crying, I feel sad in some moments. I’m aware that these things derive from an anxiety that the virus created in me and that it isn’t something true. The need I have is to regain possession of those true emotions that I felt before and I was able to manifest that now I don’t feel to be part of me. I‘m afraid of getting used to this new reality that in some ways I could define “more comfortable” for me. It is important not to forget that a video call with a friend can never replace a walk and a four-eyed chat. The pace of life that we have assumed is poor in commitments, comparisons and I am afraid of being trapped in this reality. We must remember that this is an extraordinary situation and it scares me to think that I will not be able to face life anymore”.
Francesca, 22 years old
“The thing I fear most is perhaps the distrust and the state of insecurity in which we find ourselves. I don’t know what is really going on around us and I find myself suddenly disconnected from the rest of the world. We find ourselves in a situation in which we are no longer given the opportunity to think of anything other than the contagion of Covid-19. The thing I need most is the contact with people already known and new people. I need to know and explore the world and meet new people. This is what I miss most about life before Covid -19″.
Ines, 19 years old
“With the quarantine I solved a lot of problems I had with myself. I was afraid of loneliness, now not anymore. But I’m starting to be colder and more apathetic in good relationships with people. I don’t want to talk to anyone, to face serious conversations with people except with those few that I want to hear every day. I am afraid that these sensations could mark my future ”.
Viola, 18 years old
“I have never been a model student but the school marked my days. Now I feel lost. Following the online lessons I think my life is much more chaotic. I’m afraid of the quarantine. The thought of not being able to go out when I want makes me feel very bad.”
Saya, 16 years old
“The thing I need is certainty. I have only anxieties and anguish. I don’t know what job I will be able to do when I finish my studies. I am always in the same place and my life has become very monotonous. I need to go to new places, to do different activities, to meet new people.”
Dafne, 20 years old
“My biggest concern is knowing nothing about when we will return to normal life, to the life I knew. And if everything will be the same. I need to get out of the house, to see my friends, to go to school. In short, I need to live.”
Fabrizio, 16 years old
