A high school senior from California described teen COVID-19 mental fallout in a nutshell: “It’s not that I’m mad that I missed the events. I wouldn’t have gone to prom anyway. I just feel bad about all the experiences I missed that never had the chance to happen. I wonder what those years would have been like if none of it ever happened.” A grown adult who has already lived a life and whose days are filled with routines that rarely change may be content with missing some time outdoors during lockdowns. But for teens living in one of the most dynamic periods of their lives, growing up in the time of COVID-19 takes a larger toll, according to mental health professionals looking to make sense of the pandemic’s effect on teens. Teens have missed college opportunities, their driver’s tests, and countless life-shaping experiences with friends. This was the longest …