HOW DOES ONLINE CLASS AFFECT STUDENTS MENTAL HEALTH?

 Dhilna Nazrin

 ONLINE CLASS AND STUDENTS MENTAL HEALTH

On 31 December 2019, the first COVID-19 case has been reported in Wuhan, china. Everyone felt it as a normal viral disease which will be got over soon, but it was just a beginning. 

 

The world experiences a different phase of life, where people stuck down to homes, and our cute similes were covered by mask, later our schools were shut down and classes were converted to online teaching mode. 

 

COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools, colleges and educational institutions to shut down since March. Students experience a digital form of lecturing where their friends and teachers are far away and there is no physical contact among them. As like every coin has two side online learning has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

Advantages of online learning

• Distant students have an easy availability of education.

• There is no particular age limit to learners.

• No need of infrastructure to teach students.

• Increased resource availability

 

But all students are not having a good experience with online classes, according to the report from UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), two-thirds of the world’s school-age children or 1.3 billion children aged between 3 to 17 years do not have internet connection in their homes, and NCERT survey says that 27% students cannot attend online classes.

 

The situation of students who are attending online classes is not far better, urban people have better internet connection, but this is not situation of rural people, they are facing connection problem. There are students who have to go to terrace of their home or above trees in order to get connections. It was found that 72 percent of 1,416 surveyed, students said they had been affected by lack of access to quite space to study.

 

The dark side of online education was that it is actually pressurizing people much more than regular classes, WhatsApp group turned into assignment groups, phone storage Overload with pdf files. Children facing eye strain as they are spending hours in front of laptops and mobile. Most children are having classes for 5hrs and parents are worried as when their child complaint about headache and eyesight problem. 

 

Disadvantages of online learning

 

• Internet package and computers are nowadays so costly which cannot be afforded by financially weak people.

 

• Interactive sessions between students are missing, there is no direct relationship taking place between teachers and students and it makes the concepts difficult for students to grasp.

 

• Slow internet speed is the biggest problem of online teaching.

 

Besides this, online classes are also causing serious mental illness among students.

In a survey conducted by Indian psychiatry society; there was a 20% rise in the number of cases of mental illness. 

 

The main mental issues faced by students during this pandemic condition are:

 

• Mood swings, anxiety, negative feelings, fatigue, etc.

 

• Depression and suicidal thoughts because of social isolation.

 

• Anxiety due to postponed exams.

 

• Emotional disorders as they are spending long hours on screen.

 

 

Some children also become a victim of parents frustration, because they are also going through a different phase where many loss their jobs and may have financial issues during such unpredictable times.

 

According to study reports of International journal of mental health system they had found 67.7% increase in rate of suicidal behaviour.

 

 During COVID-19 followed by lockdown, more suicide were reported by hanging (64.4%), few cases of poisoning (8.5%), and few cases of jumping in front of train(2%).

In Kerala alone 173 Children died by suicide between 10-18yrs during March - October.

 

“Students are missing out the crucial balance between studies and play. The emotional effect of being physically distant from their friends, combined with the impact of losing out on play time might induce stress in students” says Pravin Prakash, chief people’s officer, BYJU’S.

 

Conclusion

 

 Accepting your feelings and opening up about them with someone you trust will help you to feel less alone. Having an open conversation with parents, teachers or with the person whom you felt at most comfortable will help to control the level of stress.

 

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