Modern day technology allows for discovering many new possibilities that were not open in the past. One of these possibilities is the ability for students to attend classes online. This option gives students more choices in how they want to approach school and take classes. As the popularity of online classes increases, many may find themselves wanting to see what taking a virtual course would be like. The ability to not be required to show up at school may seem especially appealing. However, the perks of taking online classes may not necessarily be as desirable as one may think. Students would not benefit from being able to attend classes from home because teachers are not able to provide in-person assistance, student performance would see a sharp decline, and the convenience of attending school from home would come at the expense of students' overall health.

Virtual classrooms have no significant advantage over real-life ones. In fact, students would be unable to receive in-person help from instructors. This would negatively impact the atmosphere of the in-person classroom, as there are less students showing up to class and actively contributing to discussions. The presence of an online course would take away from the students' general feeling of unity in their respective classes, resulting in the school community appearing to become more separated. Plus, regardless of whether they teach in a classroom or over a computer, teachers' salaries remain the same. This means the school board will not be able to save money by having instructors teach a virtual course, while instructors become much more limited in their ability to teach because they do not see their students in real life. Some students genuinely require in-person instructors to help explain challenging concepts, and online courses take away that freedom.

Students would like to believe that they would generally do better in online courses compared to normal classes. However, it is extremely likely that students may face a decrease in academic performance when enrolled in a virtual course. The primary reason is that students may be unmotivated to learn on their own. When the initial excitement of taking an online course wears off, students may find themselves struggling to complete their work during their own free time. Without an active in-class instructor to push students to keep studying, students are much more likely to slack off and spend free time enjoying fun activities rather than complete work for an online class. Even the most disciplined students may face their own problems. Students have a lot more going on in their lives than one might think, and in the midst of the chaos they may forget to sign in to their online course every once in a while. In just a few days, online courses can have students drowning in late and/or incomplete assignments, drastically raising stress levels and lowering grades. While the option of enrolling in an online course can be beneficial to some, others may find that these courses significantly lower their academic performance.

Being able to study from the comfort of one's home is a warm and inviting concept. On the other hand, students would find themselves staying in their homes for much longer than is recommended, negatively affecting physical and mental health. When students cannot move around or leave the house during the day, they are more likely to adapt a sedentary lifestyle. When attending school in-person, students are at least able to get some form of exercise traveling from one class to another. Virtual classrooms do not encourage students to become active and form healthy habits, increasing the risk of hypertension or having a heart attack later in life. Additionally, students are unable to see their friends in real life. Many, if not most, of a student's friends are made at school. Staying at home constantly will result in diminished social skills, weak relationships with friends, and a general sense of feeling unhappy or lonely. Overall, an online course load promotes unhealthy/unnatural behavior for growing students and results in unintended consequences.

Technological advancements have allowed students to take classes in ways past students could not. While offering the option of attending classes from home was well-intended, how beneficial it would be to the student still has yet to be decided. The comforts of home and the leniency of the class scheduling would come at the expense of being unable to receive hands-on assistance, a lower level of academic performance, and a decrease in general health. Some students may find themselves thriving in an online atmosphere, but for most students, the cons will outweigh the pros.