Remote learning is not a viable long-term option because of the negative effects it has on students’ mental and physical health as well as their ability to learn.
California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White announced in a Sept. 10 news release on the CSU website that all 23 CSU campuses would continue in a mostly online modality for Spring 2021. This marks the third majority-online semester for San Jose State students.
The ability to learn is one of a myriad of aspects negatively affected by the transition to online education.
College students specifically struggle to create a distraction-free environment in their homes and gain organizational skills to keep up with their assignments, according to an April 20 article in The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, an independent student paper at Johns Hopkins University.
In a March 9 research paper by the Journal of Medical Internet Research, a peer-reviewed, open-access medical journal, a study of a sample group of college students showed that 89% of students were having trouble concentrating and 82% were concerned about their academic performance.
Online schooling from an academic standpoint not only takes a massive toll on students’ grades, but their health and well-being as well.
A 2016 Eastern Washington University master’s thesis titled, “Online learning and the effects on functional health: a pilot study” discussed the health effects of remote learning on students.
According to the thesis, extensive online classes put students’ emotional and physical health at risk. Stationary behavior such as sitting at a desk for long periods of time can result in conditions such as cardiovascular disease, which can lead to heart attacks.
Physical health is one of the main reasons remote learning on Zoom is not a long-term solution, especially for students attending class in other countries.
According to the same Johns Hopkins News-Letter article, the increased use of technology for remote learning has negative effects on all students when it comes to sleep, but even more so for international students.
The article mentions that international students who are in different time zones have been sacrificing their sleep in order to attend class. This alters their sleep patterns, which affects the body’s internal clock.
Our biological clocks are influenced by light exposure during the day and night. Staring at blue light screens, such as laptops or smartphones at night, can negatively impact a student’s internal clock by suppressing melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep cycle, according to the Johns Hopkins News-Letter article.
On top of physical health, online classes also affect students’ mental health.
According to a June 26 Psychiatric Times article, a peer-reviewed psychiatric publication written by and for medical experts, students can suffer from Zoom fatigue, which is described as the tiredness, worry or burnout associated with overusing virtual platforms of communication.
Many students are also struggling with feeling isolated because most classes have been online since March.
According to an April 6 editorial from the Journal of Clinical Nursing, a scientific journal which seeks to develop and share nursing knowledge, isolation can be the cause of stress disorders, insomnia, depressive symptoms and anxiety. The editorial also mentions that symptoms for people with pre-existing mental health conditions have worsened because of isolation.
Some may believe these health concerns are far outweighed by the benefits of online classes, including not having to sit in a classroom, more class engagement or quicker response times by faculty members.
These sentiments can be valuable, such as being able to attend class from any location. This can give students more
opportunities because their schedules become less restricted and students can save a lot of money because they don’t have to pay for school transit or student housing.
However, financial benefits shouldn’t be seen as more important than students’ health and ability to learn.
The transition to remote learning has been an adjustment for students everywhere. Some students may have had positive experiences so far, but it has not even been a full year since schools turned to online education. With this in mind, online learning is not sustainable because of the wide range of health issues it poses for students.
