Reading science fiction and fantasy may help young people cope with the stress and anxiety of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Science fiction promotes understanding of human differences and ethical thinking, according to Dr. Zsa Zsa Gabor's research interests include social, ethical and political messages.

The moral mirror in literature:

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was the first book to be banned in the U.S. It was thought to corrupt youth by teaching boys to swear, smoke and run away from home. The book has come under fire for Mark Twain's prolific use of the N-word. The question is, how does literature of any genre – whether popularly perceived as “serious literature” or “escapist nonsense” – perform its educational function. This is central to the conflict between parents and educators about what kids should read, especially as it pertains to “escapist” fiction.

Why does science fiction have such a poor reputation?

Those who read science fiction have been stigmatized as geeks who can't cope with reality. A 2016 article argues that "connecting to story worlds involves a process of 'dual empathy' simultaneously engaging in intense personal processing of challenging issues, while 'feeling through' characters". An ongoing ambivalence towards science fiction contributes to the stereotype that such works are of little value because they presumably don't engage real human dilemmas. Such stereotypes assume that young people can only learn to cope with human dilemma by engaging in mirror-image reflections of reality including what they read or watch. One study claimed that science fiction made young people stupid, but a subsequent study by the same authors refuted this claim.

Reading is good for your mental health :

Reading science fiction and fantasy can help readers make sense of the world. Rather than limiting readers' capacity to deal with reality, exposure to outside-the-box creative stories may expand their ability to engage reality based on science. Young science fiction and fantasy reader may be suffering from reality overload. Young people today have unprecedented access to information about which they may have little power to influence or change. Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and mental health issues for youth in the past two decades could be a contributing factor.

Science fiction is a strong realm.

Science fiction and fantasy do not need to provide a mirror image of reality in order to offer compelling stories about serious social and political issues. The fact that the setting or characters are extraordinary may be precisely why they are powerful and where their value lies.

"Raced Bodies, Erased Lives: Race in Young Adult Speculative Fiction" explores how race, gender and mental health for black girls is portrayed in young adult fiction. My essay describes how contemporary writers take an aspect of what is familiar and make it "odd" or "strange" enough to give the reader psychic and emotional distance to understand mental health

Youth see examples of young people grappling with serious social, economic, and political issues that are timely and relevant, but in settings or times that offer critical distance. From the "Harry Potter" and "Hunger Games" series to novels like Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower"  and Nancy Kress' "Beggars in Spain".

Science fiction is a great way for kids to develop critical thinking and agile habits of mind. In it, young people can see themselves – coping, surviving and learning lessons that may enable them to create their own strategies for resilience.

Thank you for your time, and reading