Mental health: the impacts of online learning on students during COVID-19

As education shifts online, students and lecturers face challenges. How is this affecting the mental health of students?

▲A professor teaching his student online. Photograph: Pexels

In the last few months, colleges and universities have been forced to adopt fully online teaching methods due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has greatly impacted students and lecturers globally. What are the recent statistics of students suffering mentally due to online learning? And what impact can this have on students and lecturer’s mental and physical health?

The YoungMinds Summer 2020 study shows that more than 83% of students with current mental health problems felt more insecure in the recent COVID-19 crisis that led to an increase in remote learning. Mental health charity YoungMinds surveyed 1,135 teachers and members of college staff in the lead up to schools re-opening to a larger number of students. The survey results show that 74% of the respondents agreed that schools being closed during lockdown has affected the mental health of many students. Furthermore, 88% of respondents believe that a lack of routine has greatly impacted the students’ wellbeing. Around 78% of respondents stated that students require additional support as they return to schools, this could be through additional pastoral support such as in-school counselling or other forms of counselling external to the school.

The disadvantages of online learning are that students can feel lonely and self-isolated due to a lack of communication with their classmates and teachers. Also, it can be difficult to liaise with lecturers via online programmes or apps due to technical issues. JMIR Publications research mentions that 38% of students found the transition to online classes to be the most challenging aspect of e-learning. In particular, they felt that the quality of the classes and technical difficulties had the greatest impact on their studies. This could slow down the progress that students and teachers make to work hard. More importantly, remote learning can cause mental problems such as anxiety and depression, as well as eye damage if staying online for a long period.

Reham Bubakar, a business and marketing undergraduate student at the University of the West of Scotland, has experienced online learning for the first time due to COVID-19.

She said: “There are a lot of disadvantages to online learning because I am used to the interaction between lecturers and students in classes and I have not experienced that to the same level as this before. For example, a hundred people now are watching the same lecture, and you cannot just interrupt and put your mike on and speak to the lecturer.

“Mentally, it has had an impact because you are not able to do what you want to do and you are stuck in the house all the time, so you feel quite sad and your mood is low, you feel depressed some days as well. It is also quite hard to find the time where you can be completely quiet, just get everything out of the way and focus on school work. So it has been stressful trying to get things done because there is less motivation.”

JMIR Publications has found that 71% of the participating students have indicated that their stress and anxiety levels had increased due to COVID-19. However, only 5% of those students have used mental health counselling services which suggests that the majority do not feel comfortable enough to speak to their designated counsellor and that there is a lack of support for the students via their institutions. In addition, 82% of participants showed concerns about their academic performance being impacted by the pandemic.

Tom Churchill, a feature writing lecturer at City of Glasgow College said: “I think overall the experience of teaching online is mentally more tiring because there are more emails and communication to do. There are things that we can sort out as a group in college in five minutes which can take longer when you have to do things remotely and keep following up. I’m finding it a bit of a struggle at times to keep energy levels up.”

The Centre for Mental Health and AOC have discovered that low school attainment and social deprivation affect students’ mental health as well as access to learning technology. They have found that students who already suffer from mental issues can have both positive and negative experiences of online learning. For example, some can feel more stressed and self-isolated due to fewer interactions with their lectures and classmates. However, others can adapt to the online world easier and improve their communication through digital platforms as they no longer have to physically go into college to attend their classes. This has created new possibilities allowing for fuller participation. Whereas students who do not have a history of mental health problems can hardly adapt to digital learning and struggle to find motivation as they prefer communicating with lecturers face-to-face.

While online learning can present many difficulties, it can also bring some advantages such as the opportunity to have a flexible working day that is not limited to 9-5 working hours regularly, and it can allow learners to go through the content at their own speed without having to keep up with a live lecturer’s pace. This is particularly beneficial for those who struggle with note-taking and concentrating over long periods of time. Remote learning can also encourage them to explore new hobbies and interests outside the classroom as they spend most of their time on their own and can develop new skills and abilities.

Reham said: “In general it has been good because I can simply wake up and access my classes straight away using my laptop. One of the main advantages is that it saved a lot of time making it online because I used to spend one hour to get to university and one hour to come back home, whereas now I can just wake up even half an hour before my lecture and have breakfast and I can be there straight away.”

Tom said: “The advantages are it is easier for students to work at their own pace once you are connected to the meetings there is time to work on things which means you can control your day a bit more, you don’t have to travel, it saves you money on travelling if you can work from home. Mentally, I think in some ways it has been easier because we don’t have to travel so taking some pressure off that way.

In addition, remote learning can help develop the way of delivering information for students and teachers technologically by supporting practical work on various subjects such as IT, and Laboratory classes, as well as increasing creativity with other tools and access methods such as voice and software programmes. This can help enhance young people’s capabilities in using technology and improve their critical thinking and leadership skills. It can also be an opportunity for teachers to capitalise on emerging trends like video calling and Zoom meetings to make learning feel relevant and to keep students more engaged.

▲A girl writing on a black keyboard. Photograph: Pexels

Tom said: “We can use technology to share information and quick feedback back and forth. We are already trying things using other capabilities of Zoom such as breakout rooms where we can work in small groups while still talking face to face on Zoom. The technology is always evolving and developing so I think there will be new things to come.

“I think the key to keeping students engaged is to have a variety of different types of experiences online, so it is not every week a lecturer talking for an hour and then the students go away and work on their own. Making sure meetings on Zoom are not too long and too boring and making sure students have enough to do and having a variety of study methods.”

Reham said: “We have to use social media such as messenger and WhatsApp and also Microsoft Teams for group presentations. However, it was quite difficult for Microsoft Team to get everyone on and took us a while to figure out how to use it. As for the lecturers, we communicate solely through emails for any questions. As I am in the fourth year, I have a supervisor where we meet every two weeks to help me address any concerns.

“It has been helpful for the most part because everyone uses social media so I am quite used to that. Furthermore, remote learning made education easy and accessible through the use of technology and social media. With technology's presence, teachers and students can build a network where they connect in real-time and discuss related issues.”

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How to create a routine for perfect study?

It is important for students to engage in a routine that creates a sense of structure to control daily functions including being active, eating and sleeping. In such extraordinary periods, students are encouraged to exercise self-compassion to take care of their minds and improve their overall well-being. Other suggestions that help students improve their mental health while studying is by decorating, writing and drawing.

Tom said: “My main advice would be to think about having defined times in your day when you’re going to be studying and when you are doing other work and trying to keep to a routine and a time. If you keep to that routine and keep to working hours that already help separate your work and your home life a bit. In between studying times, get away from a computer and go have a walk and go outside to stretch your legs.”

Reham said: “Sometimes it is difficult to manage the stress and it becomes too consuming when I have a deadline close. I just pause and cannot think, but there are sometimes where a little bit of stress can be motivating when there is a close deadline where it is not too late, it just motivates you to try to work faster so a little bit of stress is good.

“The main thing I would say to help you during this difficult time of studying is to find the perfect place where you want to study, it could be anywhere in the house, right now places are closed but if you feel like you want to go to the park to watch your lecture, do so. Also, focus on lectures and do not let social media distract you too much because that will interact with your studies. Finally, if you feel like talking to someone I think it is important to try and contact someone, whether that is a supervisor you have got access to or a counsellor in your university.”