Students’ Perceptions of the Impact of Online Education on Health during COVID-19: A Survey Study

Abstract

Purpose: This empirical research aims to see whether students in higher educational institutions are satisfied with technology-assisted Online Education during the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on their physical mental and emotional health. The findings of this study could help policymakers and healthcare professionals develop effective psychological therapies and cost-efficient recommendations for preventing negative feelings among general people who are solitary at home.

Methodology: To demonstrate the demographic and other selected features of the respondents, a descriptive analysis was done. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data, a non-parametric test was employed to investigate the significant correlations between sample characteristics and the level of health problems during the COVID-19 outbreak. The connection between gender, education level, and age group vs the stated level of health problems was evaluated using a One-Way ANOVA test for independence.

Findings/Result: It was found that too much exposure to mobile and laptop screens is currently one of the major disadvantages of online education and leads to a feeling of isolation and fear. It may indicate distress and an increased abnormal or obsessive tendency like picking nails, sucking the thumb, and pulling the hair. Excessive use of gadgets even resulted in mental health problems, stress sensations, anxiety, excitation or thrill, headaches, tiredness of the muscle, eye and ear strains, obesity or overweight, faintness, irregular sleep patterns, mental disturbance, back pain, aching shoulders, neck, and muscles pain, etc.  Online education also affected the physical activity levels of students like bad postures, later bedtimes, longer sleep rise discontinuation, and later waking times which has been associated with motionless and lazy lifestyles.

Originality: The study used data collected through an online survey to learn how students are dealing with online education, which has been around for a long time but is still underutilized, and how satisfied they are with it. During June 2021, data was obtained. The online survey form was kept open for a week to allow respondents to reply. The participating population does not have a regional boundary

Paper Type: Empirical research.