As a young person I'm worried about my peers flouting lockdown rules

Regent’s Park, London after the relaxation of quarantine measures in England, allowing six people from different households to meet in parks and gardens, subject to physical distancing. But many young people are not sticking to the lockdown rules, according to one letter writer. Photograph: Getty

As a 19-year-old, I am disappointed in my peers’ attitude to lockdown. My social media feeds are awash with posts of friends hugging, sharing lifts to McDonald’s drive-throughs, and normalising flouting the rules. With data showing that the health risk to our age group is minimal, it seems many have taken this to mean they are safe. Yet aside from the risks for older or ill people around us, we have so much to lose; a longer lockdown means further disruption to our education, and it will be us who bear the brunt of a damaged economy.

Seeing large groups of teenagers selfishly breaking guidelines is heartbreaking and massively hypocritical. Social media posts on protecting the NHS and outrage at the care home crisis seem like nothing more than overcompensating when the same friends suddenly become unconcerned when it suits their personal plans.

I hate feeling like an outsider, and a judgmental one at that, among my peers, but I do not understand how an age group who can be so understanding about other social issues can act so selfishly on a matter as serious as this.
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