Online learning and mental health issues: What do we know?
Authors: Meintjes Hannetjie 
Published: November 2023

By the end of 2019, Covid-19, a novel virulent and potentially lethal virus, had hit the world. The global population lacked natural immunity against the virus and the non-existence of efficient vaccines and treatments made isolation the preferred option. This was enforced by many governments. World-wide educational communities responded to these measures with online learning where possible. Online lectures and content and activities on learning management systems (LMS) (where available) became the new normal way of teaching and learning. Chandra (cited in Akpınar, 2021) estimates that up to 90% of the global student population was studying at home (many online) during the pandemic. This created a unique opportunity for researchers to investigate the effect not only of the Covid pandemic, but also of the online response, on students’ mental health. Pre-Covid-19 research at the time expressed concerns about the use of certain online technologies and/or certain ways of using them as challenges to those vulnerable to mental health issues. Andreassen et al. (2016) describe single younger people, social networkers, addictive gamers, and those who are easily distracted and/or impulsive (including those with overt or covert attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], and OCD) as vulnerable. A flood of studies regarding the possible links between Covid-19, online learning and mental health were published during and soon after the 2020–2022 period. Rutkowska et al. (2021; 2022) found that all 3804 student participants in their two studies reported increased stress levels due to online studies, nearly half reporting depression and 18% of the 2022 study participants reporting suicidal thoughts. Fontes-Perryman and Spina (2021) report that excessive users of technology share characteristics with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) sufferers, such as fear of missing out on new information, poor inhibitory control and a strong urge to control. From these worrying findings a plethora of questions arise: Could the measures taken to curb the viral spread (and not online learning per se) have caused the reported negative mental health effects during the pandemic? Were there certain aspects of how online learning was rolled out during the pandemic that made it more stressful than it needs to be? If online learning per se affects students’ mental health negatively, what aspects thereof have negative effects? Are some students more at risk, and, if so, who? If online learning exacerbates and/or precipitates mental health issues, what can be done to keep vulnerable students in this mode of education safe? Contrary to the negative effects mentioned above, there is some evidence that online learning may also have positive effects on students’ mental health. For example, Bolatov et al. (2021) found improved mental health among the 619 senior medical students in their study after going online. This literature review will attempt to collate evidence on these and other findings regarding possible mental health effects of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Suggestions to ensure mentally safe online learning environments include: implementation of mental health support (individually and/or in groups) and avoiding poor course design features that may contribute to stress (an aspect that educators can control). The advice from Rutkowska et al. (2022), Placencia and Muljana (2019), Anderson (2003), Vygotsky (1978), Alberts (2020) and others regarding good course design is emphasised, while also reminding readers to take caution when applying the findings from global studies in local contexts.