Written by Sophia Hysaw, Staff Writer & Opinion Editor
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many things over the past nine months, but in one way more than almost any other, it has affected how we communicate. Due to social distancing regulations and the absence of what we considered normal socialization, we have all become much more distanced and separated in more ways than just physical. The new norm of conversation has become social media. 
Although social media is definitely an effective and quick means of communication, it has also started a new unrealistic pattern of its own, in which people are refusing to discuss topics with others who have opposing opinions.
As the political climate has rapidly heated up over the past few months and as new political opinions and arguments have been budding and blooming, a new outbreak of unfriending those one disagrees has accentuated an already divided time.
Due to all the newfound free time and nothing to do with it, teens have become much more interested in politics and social change, many even taking it upon themselves to be as educated on the current day news as possible.
Now that teens are becoming more socially aware, they are forming their own opinions on these matters, some for the first time. Although this is perfectly normal, it has been happening at a much more rapid pace due to how quickly information is spread on social media. The overload of information can trigger some and cause their emotions to be at an all time high. This overstimulation results in strongly opinionated adolescents who are much less open to discussion on their newly formed beliefs.
A harmful cycle has developed where people refuse to converse with those who disagree with the beliefs they have formed. Not only will this affect people who refuse to be around those with differing opinions, but it will affect our society as a whole. If we create a normality where we can’t have civil conversation and find a middle ground, then our government, which is supposed to be based on discussion and understanding, will no longer be functional.
Though there are these concerns, there are of course limits to this. Unfriending someone on all your social media because they are not associated with the same political party as you, and unfriending someone because they are bigoted and predjuduce are two different things. While it only takes clicks of a button for you to unfriend somebody on social media, this does not completely apply to the physical world. A part of life is learning how to work with people you do not agree with. It is unrealistic to expect everyone in your life to have the same exact opinions as you, and attempting to only surround yourself with people who completely agree with you is not practical or applicable.
Although this new development among the youth has caused quite some severance in friendships and even family relationships, it has also brought about a new wave of education and information that may prove useful in this generation of future leaders.