Essay about Disadvantages Of Online Learning

“How do you become motivated?”, a question every student finds themselves asking. “I’ll start tomorrow”, they say as they slowly fall deep into the hole of procrastination. Mental illnesses are the main impediments to academic success. Mental illnesses affect a students’ motivation, concentration, and social interactions: all which are crucial for a student's success in education. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to various affected groups, one of which are students. It is found that the prevalence of pandemics creates new stressors including fear and worry for oneself or loved ones, constraints on physical movement and social activities due to quarantine, and sudden and radical lifestyle changes. A recent study of virus outbreaks and pandemics documented stressors such as infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma. Upon all these factors, Covid has forced students to take classes online, increasing their stress by making learning more difficult.
At the beginning of COVID-19 many students experienced depression, anxiety, loneliness, and demotivation due to the sudden closing of the schools. Chris Rozek, an education Professor at Washington University, explained that “at the peak of the spring lockdown, nearly half of teenagers — 44% — screened by Rozek showed signs of major depression. Nearly 85% of Rozek’s students were lonely, and academic motivation “plummeted” to just a quarter of teens wanting to do schoolwork” (Delaney). Students struggled to stay motivated for their zoom lectures which made it difficult for them to complete their assignments. In his article, Delaney claimed that “school social workers and researchers say rates of depression among students are still higher than normal with remote schooling dragging on into the winter”. In another article by Sujata Gupta, it was proved that depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems are more prevalent in college students in the United States than in the general population. According to a recent survey, during the early days of the pandemic, approximately 85 percent of college students experienced moderate to high levels of anxiety.
As time goes by with online learning, students have become more isolated from their social environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students have been separated from their friends. As students spend more time inside with limited social situation exposure, they have become disconnected from their social environment leading to increased social anxiety. Research has shown that teenagers rely on their friendships to maintain a sense of self-worth and to manage anxiety and depression (Goldberg). Children typically learn the basics of making friends at a young age, but high school is a crucial period for developing nuanced communication skills. In an article by “Teens in Covid Isolation: ‘I Felt Like I Was Suffocating’”, Emma Goldberg reports that in a recent study of 3,300 high school students showed that, in recent months, almost one third reported feeling sad or depressed. While for a generation used to bonding with friends through texts, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, it may seem strange, but more than a quarter of those students said they did not feel connected to teachers, classmates or their school group. In the “The Pandemic Is Taking a Toll on Teens’ Mental Health” video by CBS, Ramani Durvasula, a clinical psychologist, talks about the losses the teenagers have experienced during this pandemic. She discusses the losses that will have a significant impact on teenagers, such as uncertainty about the future. She goes on to say that the mental effects of the pandemic may last long after the outbreak is over. Teenagers may not be able to recover because they have lost the stage where they can begin to experience adulthood.
While the Covid pandemic has affected a wide range of students, learning online has proven difficult for all of them. In an article by Clea Skopeliti, it is revealed that three out of four students with disabilities say their mental well-being has deteriorated during the coronavirus pandemic (Skopeliti). The report found that almost half of disabled students have considered dropping out of their course due to the worsening of their mental health. The author of “How The Stress Of Online Learning Impacts Your Teen.” explains that online learning has a huge impact on teenagers. Increased assignments and the assumptions of being able to navigate through technology increases anxiety. Students suffering from physical strains can be caused by staring at a computer all day. Spending a significant amount of time online can exhaust both students and teachers, resulting in "Zoom Fatigue." Virtual interactions are mentally draining, partially because our brains are not programmed to process information in such a way. According to research, about a fourth of teens are battling with depression, twice as numerous as expected. As more adolescents and children struggle with delayed episodes of increased pressure, nervousness, and depression, school advocates say it's starting to show (“How The Stress Of Online Learning Impacts Your Teen”). However, according to research from Washington College, depression rates are lower now than they were at the start of the pandemic, when schools abruptly closed and coursework moved from the chalkboard to the computers. Similarly, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, students experienced moderate to extreme anxiety. According to the author of "Anxiety Level of University Students During COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia," a self-rating anxiety scale was used to assess the anxiety levels among Saudi Arabian students, and the results showed that about 35% of the students had moderate to serious anxiety. Age, sex, and level of education were highly associated with anxiety. The fear of becoming infected or losing loved ones to the disease, combined with the need to quickly adjust to new teaching and assessment procedures, put a lot of pressure on the students, according to the author.
In the United States, nearly all K-12 students are currently missing face-to-face lectures because of COVID-19. By not being in a physical classroom setting and overload of assignment has become overwhelming for many students. Students around the world are struggling, yet no one is paying attention to their suffering. The pandemic has harmed students' academic performance by reducing their inspiration, concentration, and commitment. Students, on the other hand, are not psychologically assisted. More action and information about this issue is needed.