Engl. transl.: COVID-19: The state of emergency through the eyes of teenagers

The objective of this study is to outline the specific way in which teenagers (aged between 15 and 19) have processed and experienced the current situation and their behaviour in the context of restrictive measures imposed as part of the COVID-19 lockdown. The main research questions and findings of the study concern preferred information channels for searching and sharing information and authorities for teenagers in this situation; what is the explanation shared by teenagers about COVID-19 and their expectations for the post-crisis period; what is the frequency and nature of the positive and negative emotions associated with the experienced situation; what are the activities that teenagers lack the most during the state of emergency and the actions that calm them down and are important for them in the process of adaptation and search for stability; what is the level of cyber bullying in the conditions of physical distance and social isolation and what are the age-specific thesaurus and social norms for teenagers.

The assessment of teenagers in general is that they do not think that the COVID-19 virus is dangerous for them (60%). They tend to share both the opinion that the situation is very dangerous (47%) and that everything is a lie and manipulation (43%). Experiencing the situation is mainly associated with anger from the imposed restrictions (70%), to a lesser extent with fear (30%) and ridicule (29%). Half of the participants in the study believe that this is a tool for imposing a new sociopolitical order in the world and a "media bubble" for shifting attention from other important topics. the facts and the measures taken. In a crisis situation, teenagers prefer to seek the opinion of their parents and experts and explicitly state that they do not trust influencers, people and groups who follow on social networks. They show a preference for Bulgarian sources of information with relatively high representation of TV and radio channels (1/3 of teenagers), as well as the monitoring of officially disclosed data as a reliable source of information used by 68% of participants. Teenagers who do not seek information at all are 16%. Regarding the frequency of presence of the COVID-19 topic on social networks, the results show that it occupies 80% of the space, but in half of the cases it causes irony and ridicule. With regard to fake news and its distribution, the majority of teenagers state that they seek reliable information and do not directly trust the shared content. Most are interested and looking for information to prevent the spread of the virus, with 61% sharing with their friends the precautions they have found. Their personal position is that they can recognize fake news.