The last few weeks of the school year are filled with increased screen time, anxiety and procrastination. With students’ faces submerged in Block Blast and TikTok, focusing on the upcoming detrimental exams becomes incredibly hard.

With the mix of clubs, studying, extracurricular activities or even a job, how are students expected to have hobbies or a social life? Only about 30 percent of students report having free time, which is cruel and unfair.

At least adults get to come home at 6 p.m. and not have to do any more work. On the other hand, over 60 percent of students have 1 or 2+ hours of homework daily. Adults also get weekends to themselves, while we have to study for tests or go to sporting events. 

Most of my time in school is spent binge-watching new shows or scrolling on my phone. In all of my classes, I have at least 15 minutes of downtime to do whatever I want. Even if we are expected to be doing some useless busy work, others are on their phones or talking. If students cared more, we could use this time for homework and getting ahead.

Not to mention the whole other ball-park of Advanced Placement (AP) classes. College-level classes are all riding on the absurd AP exam. Debatable if it’s even worth the stress!

Teens no longer have a passion for learning. This is difficult because the teachers know the students have given up, and as a result, some of them don’t even make an effort. Especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence, most kids do not even do their work themselves.

Overall, I think we should put a little more effort into our work, as well as attempt to set aside more time for ourselves. With the most major exams of the year, this generation desperately needs a good work-life balance.