Online classes damaging students’ mental health
By Ridham Yadav
Changing the mode ofeducation from offline to online is taking a toll on students ’ mental health . They are missing experiencing college life, and increased screen time is slowing their learning process.
With many students confined to their homes for long, with almost no physical and mental activities, the sudden outpour of work has been overwhelming. Things have been worse for students transitioning from high school to college.
“It is all the work of college without any fun of it,” says Isha Shah, a first-year student at Ashoka University.
It is all the work of college without any fun of it: Isha Shah. Photo by: Ridham Yadav
Students never thought such a day would come when their laptop screens would be their campuses. Being on their screens almost continuously for about 6-9 hours a day has increased fatigue and made learning difficult and exhausting. Back-to-backonline classes have had a severe impact on the mental and physical health of students.
Tishya Sinha, a clinical psychologist, said, “Video calls are energy drainers as students have a hard time processing non-verbal cues, like body language and this increases misunderstanding.”
"A delay in as low as 1.2 seconds can make users perceive the responder as less friendly or distracted and make users anxious about the technology," according to the report by Katrin Schoenenberg, an expert in human communications over audio-visual systems.
Lack of social interaction has been a primary problem for most students. However, they have other concerns as well. Sanyam Bhandari, a freshman at BITS Pilani, said, “I have always had a short attention span, online classes have only increased my procrastination for I have so many distractions right in front of me.”
Ameya Naik, another first-year student at Ashoka University, complained about the requirement to keep the webcam on, she says, “I find it difficult to focus on my classes when my webcam is on because I get self-conscious of my appearance.”
Experts have warned of a grim situation ahead. Yogesh Jog, a mental health specialist, claims that there has been a rise in the number of cases where students are showing early signs of depression. He suggested that long working hours, no change in environment, increased screen time and lack of social interaction have taken a toll on students. He believes that online classes have a direct link with social anxiety. “Webcam is a menace; signs of social anxiety have increased due to the constant need to look presentable on-call. Furthermore,video lags and embarrassing accidents add to social anxiety," he added.
The pandemic and remote learning has undoubtedly been devastating to the students’ mental well-being. With the re-opening of schools and colleges still looking doubtful, will the government and educational institutions focus on making things more effective and less stressful for the students?
(The story first appeared in The Times of Bennett, the lab newspaper produced by the first semester students of TheTimes School of Media .)
Changing the mode of
With many students confined to their homes for long, with almost no physical and mental activities, the sudden outpour of work has been overwhelming. Things have been worse for students transitioning from high school to college.
“It is all the work of college without any fun of it,” says Isha Shah, a first-year student at Ashoka University.
Students never thought such a day would come when their laptop screens would be their campuses. Being on their screens almost continuously for about 6-9 hours a day has increased fatigue and made learning difficult and exhausting. Back-to-back
Tishya Sinha, a clinical psychologist, said, “Video calls are energy drainers as students have a hard time processing non-verbal cues, like body language and this increases misunderstanding.”
"A delay in as low as 1.2 seconds can make users perceive the responder as less friendly or distracted and make users anxious about the technology," according to the report by Katrin Schoenenberg, an expert in human communications over audio-visual systems.
Lack of social interaction has been a primary problem for most students. However, they have other concerns as well. Sanyam Bhandari, a freshman at BITS Pilani, said, “I have always had a short attention span, online classes have only increased my procrastination for I have so many distractions right in front of me.”
Ameya Naik, another first-year student at Ashoka University, complained about the requirement to keep the webcam on, she says, “I find it difficult to focus on my classes when my webcam is on because I get self-conscious of my appearance.”
Experts have warned of a grim situation ahead. Yogesh Jog, a mental health specialist, claims that there has been a rise in the number of cases where students are showing early signs of depression. He suggested that long working hours, no change in environment, increased screen time and lack of social interaction have taken a toll on students. He believes that online classes have a direct link with social anxiety. “Webcam is a menace; signs of social anxiety have increased due to the constant need to look presentable on-call. Furthermore,
The pandemic and remote learning has undoubtedly been devastating to the students’ mental well-being. With the re-opening of schools and colleges still looking doubtful, will the government and educational institutions focus on making things more effective and less stressful for the students?
(The story first appeared in The Times of Bennett, the lab newspaper produced by the first semester students of The
Recent Messages ()
Please rate before posting your Review
SIGN IN WITH
Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.