Distance learning is a method of teaching where students are not required to come to a class; however, they stay at home and watch the class through an online video or conference. While this may seem like a great alternative to having to get up early each morning and attend school everyday, it actually could have unintended consequences on the child. There are three main downsides to this form of online learning; those being that there could be more distractions at home than in the classroom, there would be less one on one time for the student and teacher, and the student would have a harder time making friends.

In a traditional school setting students may have trouble concentrating on the lesson because they want to talk to their friends. This issue will only be amplified if distance learning is used because there are even more distractions at home for a child. One of the main distractions would be the child's family and pets. If the child is part of a big family it may be hard to concentrate with the noise. The same issue would appear if the child has a baby in the house due to the baby crying or playing. The student may additionally be distracted by his or her own toys. If the child is watching the lecture in their room they may have the urge to play with their toys that are across the room. Students in normal schools are not allowed to be on their phones during class, but in this situation they could easily be on their phone without anyone ever knowing. If the class is only accessible online the students must have internet access. When the power is out or their internet is not working the students will not be able to learn. These distractions would all lead to students not paying enough attention in class and not retaining the information taught.

One more huge set back for children would be the lack of one on one time with the teacher. When teachers do not have each student sitting in front of them it would be hard to tell who actually understands the subject and who does not. In a traditional school teachers can go around the room and ensure that each child is doing his or her work correctly and if they are not he or she can help the student. With distance learning the teacher has no way of walking around the classroom and helping individual students. The student and teacher may be able to video chat and or email; however, that is not the same as having someone help you in person. Students normally form relationships with their teachers and are able to talk to and trust them. This type of relationship is not achievable with distance learning because students do not have the time between classes and after school to talk to their teacher like they would ordinarily. This absence of a relationship would become a problem especially if a student ever needed a recommendation from the teacher, because the teacher would not fully know the student.

Within a normal education system students have a few minutes between classes, recess, gym, and time on the bus to talk. This is not the case with distance learning, because there is no way for students to talk unless they go though the hassle of getting each others numbers and texting. While school is supposed to be a place to learn about subjects like math and English, it actually teaches kids how to make and keep friends. This is a lesson that it is very hard for a child to learn only from their family, because those relationships are different than friendships. Without the knowledge of how to build friendships in school kids have a much more difficult time forming relationships in life. By having only online classes, where students can not communicate face to face with each other, they are not learning how to build these important relationships with their peers, which will ultimately effect their adult relationships as well.

Distance learning in theory appears to be a new and better approach to learning and school in general, but, as previously mentioned, there are many unintentional side effects that hurt students. There are some up sides to this method such as no need for transportation and more free time for the child; however there are also downsides such as more distractions and less one on one time with teachers. Ultimately, distance learning has more bad effects than beneficial ones and therefore should not be used instead of the present school system.