It is obviously hard to single out which type of people the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the hardest.

It is killing or accelerating death in some of our most vulnerable and the need for strict isolation guidelines is placing an enormous strain on families, children, business owners and others.

There is another particular group of people also being hit hard, in a variety of ways. It is also a group fundamental to society working its way out of the pandemic and into the eventual recovery process – young single adults.

We need only think back to years of when we were in our late teens or 20s and how we were thinking then and what was important or driving us to understand how frustrating and awkward the circumstances. 

Okay, okay, before us weathered old coots start with the ‘they just need to toughen up a bit’ or ‘they don’t know what tough is’ type of comments, we must remember this is a naturally impressionable, often ignorant but clever, sometimes arrogant and, critically, hormone-driven group.

They are also the people who have freshly emerged from the world of childhood and schooling and are keen to start or continue the exploration of the rest of their lives.

The one thing most in this age group usually crave is the company of others – the one thing in the pandemic authorities have stressed we must avoid. Bang! An immediate red flag.

Gatherings of young women and men, through sporting, holiday, party, event and workplace activities, are traditionally an important and often overlooked part of community social development.

They foster relationships, friendships, networks, associations and all sorts of opportunities that ultimately stimulate socio-economic health progress.

As a sample of collective humanity, they are also a spreading hotbed, from everything from good cheer and solidarity to anxiety and disease.

Opportunities for young love to flourish have in particular copped a battering in the past six months.

Lockdown circumstances are okay for established couples because under rules partners can visit each other.

But what about single young adults yearning to look beyond online dating sites to find and meet a boyfriend or girlfriend face-to-face?

Sure, it sounds like a basic case of tough luck they are just going to have to accept, for the time being at least. Reality suggests the dilemma is a bit more important than that.

Let’s not forget the hormonal drive that fuels young adults, and others for that matter.

The drive to find or consolidate a relationship with that ‘right’ person can be very strong and during a pandemic, potentially dangerous. In fact the scenario presents an obvious red flag for authorities trying to keep the pandemic in check.

Even arrangements between established couples can be problematic if the relationship is distant and involves partners, who might only catch up occasionally, mingling with different communities.

We have all had to modify our day-to-day lives and the dilemma confronting young adults is just one of many awkward situations we face in tentative steps towards the future.

All we can do as community elders is feel for our up-and-comers, provide guidance and direction, set examples and hope they, and everyone else of course, can be mature enough to avoid unnecessary risks.  

Patience at the moment is much more than a virtue.

The entire September 9, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!