The past nearly five years have ushered in unprecedented shifts in how we live and connect with the world. For many working adults who weathered the COVID-19 lockdowns, it’s tempting to brush those years aside as a strange blip, a memory best forgotten. But for adolescents and young adults, the pandemic didn’t just interrupt life—it reshaped it in ways we’re only beginning to understand. As we emerged from prolonged isolation, a new challenge surfaced: what I call "post-COVID