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MANUEL S. ENVERGA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION CANDELARIA, INC.

Quezon, Philippines

RISKS: THE INFLUENCE OF ONLINE LEARNING ON STUDENT PHYSICAL,

MENTAL, AND SOCIAL HEALTH

by:

Valeros, Gean Marc G.

Nonan, Gabriel Kurt S.

Pascual, Witterson G

Senior High School Department

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STUDENT PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SOCIAL HEALTH
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MANUEL S. ENVERGA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION CANDELARIA, INC.

Quezon, Philippines

ABSTRACT

Although it has many benefits, there are also risks, particularly for youth.

Excessive technology use can negatively impact the physical, mental, and social health of

youth. This can result in pathological behaviors such as technology addiction. This

paper will provide a brief overview of technology use by youth as available and

applicable. The intent is to increase awareness of issues that may occur with online

learning in children and teens. The researchers inspected and scanned dozens of online

articles and research papers to conduct this research.

CHAPTER 1

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INTRODUCTION

Online learning has inevitably increased the amount of time students spend on

digital devices every day and as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic rapidly spread

across the country, schools have shut their doors and classes have moved online in order

to slow the spread. The transition to online learning has impacted not only teachers, who

have had to amend their courses, but also students who have had to adjust to a new

learning environment.

In addition to adverse health impacts from altered sleep cycles, increased digital

use can affect student’s physical and mental health. Students are struggling to create an

environment free of distractions and develop the necessary organizational skills to stay on

top of their assignments, noting that these difficulties can affect students’ mental health.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

PHYSICAL HEALTH

Physical education centers on physical activity and is clearly distinct from general

knowledge-based subjects. Therefore, online physical education classes require special

preparation and operation to communicate and practice the values of physical education

well. Currently, as in-person school attendance and online classes are occurring in

tandem around the world, there is a need to examine whether online physical education

classes are being held and conveying the values of physical education appropriately.

Many are feeling a strain in their eyes. Those unaccustomed to squinting at poorly

adjusted computer screens in ambient lighting are subjected to eyestrain that can have

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lasting effects. Spending long periods of time looking at computer screens is one of the

culprits for eye strain. On average, humans blink about 15 to 20 times every minute, but

these numbers may decrease when someone is preoccupied, like looking at the computer.

Using the 20 - 20 - 20 rule is an excellent way to help avoid this kind of problem for

homeschooling kids. This rule involves taking a break every 20 minutes by looking at

something that’s 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Brody, Jane E. (May 31, 2016).

Aside from the harmful effect on children’s eyes, sitting for hours can also lead to

a shorter lifespan for children as this can change the way their blood flows or their

arteries work. Students can use their break time to leave their seats, step out of the room,

or do some stretching. Even short bursts of movement go a long way in managing the

effects of prolonged sitting. Ophthalmologists recommend taking breaks from screen

reading every 20 minutes and adjusting room lighting to avoid glare and reflections.

One of the major consequences of the transition to online learning is its impact

on student health, specifically sleep habits. Students in different time zones than their

institutions are now sacrificing sleep to wake up for classes on Zoom. Altering regular

sleep patterns affects the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal biological clock.

Katzenstein explained that the circadian rhythm is based on light exposure, which is

maintained by waking up when there is light out and going to sleep when it is dark. She

added that increased screen time can have a negative impact on rhythm.

Light exposure in the a.m. helps us wake up, and decreasing light exposure in the

evening helps you fall asleep through nocturnal melatonin induction. Exposure to light in

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the evening, especially blue light from our computer screens may suppress nocturnal

melatonin secretion and alter circadian rhythms.

MENTAL HEALTH

The mental pressures faculty and students may be experiencing can be expressed

in deteriorated physical health. Anxiety and stress can lower immunity, subjecting people

to illness, and not just the common cold. People with high levels of self-reported distress

are found to be 32 percent more likely to die of cancer; depression has been associated

with heart disease. These are not trivial effects. They are life altering and destructive.

To support the mental health needs of online students is a mission for each

university. The change in lifestyle can feed loneliness, anxiety and even lead to

depression. Teachers and faculty members are now at the front line of responsibility for

identifying mental health issues. None are monitoring the students in most cases. On

campus, those students may be observed by classmates, schoolmates and campus staff

who observe students informally every day. But, online, those students often are not seen

by fellow students, advisers or others. They are living in unobserved anonymity.

Teachers are often the primary direct contact with online students.

SOCIAL HEALTH

Online classes make students not have to attend a physical class which is helpful

in this pandemic, but they don’t have the opportunity for face-to-face interactions with

their teacher and fellow classmates.

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Many students know that learning isn’t just an intellectual or academic activity,

but a social one as well and that explains why a number of students report uncooperative

in-person interaction with their teachers. Students are starting to miss face-to-face

interactions with fellow classmates. For some students, this lack of social interaction and

the accompanying need to be self-motivated to get their work done can lead to feelings of

isolation and loneliness. For many students, not having enough interaction with teachers

and peers is among the biggest hurdles of studying online and passing their courses.

You might expect that the lack of socialization would affect online students

exclusively. After all, students of traditional senior high school degree programs still

meet with their classmates for performance tasks. However, even with this opportunity

for interaction, students aren’t necessarily better off socially just because they set foot on

a classmate’s abode. Today’s pandemic ridden countries schools have their students

spend less time socializing and more time studying (alone), and that has led to an “all-

time low” in students’ emotional health, according to Hudreds of News & World Reports.

Apparently, online senior high school students aren’t missing out on the “Grade 11

experience,” at least not any more than traditional students are.

The social aspect of learning doesn’t disappear entirely in online college courses.

It only changes. Instead of have class discussions out loud in a physical classroom on

campus, students engage in virtual discussions within their course’s online learning

platform. They may even find these discussions more fulfilling than traditional course

discussions. In online discussions, each student must contribute something substantial to

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the conversation which is something that may not always happen in traditional

classrooms, where participation grades may have more to do with whether the student

spoke up than with what the student has contributed.

While faculty members may communicate or even mingle with online students

primarily through email and messages on the virtual learning environment like Aralinks

or Google Classroom, they can also engage students in a more social way. Some create

pre-recorded videos explaining course material so that students can still see and hear the

lecture. They may even communicate with students in less formal ways, such as through

social media.

Students may need to adjust to the different format of an online course. However,

with hard work and dedication, they can not only succeed in learning but also find the

social interaction they’re looking for but just not in the way they’re used to.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study generally aims to teach and reinforce everyday preventive actions

during this pandemic in accordance to the student’s health due to online classes to faculty

members who want to help their students. The researchers also want to teach students

themselves who wish to have a healthier lifestyle in these trying times independently. The

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researchers want to show that it can be easy to slip into unhealthy habits during this

online class period, but with a little thought and preparation, maintaining a healthy body

and mind doesn’t have to be a chore.

CHAPTER 2

METHODOLOGY

This chapter puts forward the application of qualitative methodologies to dissert

the research questions and different steps that researchers have taken to show the readers

and other researchers to show how the study was conducted and how the conclusion were

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drasn. This shows the different strategies of the researchers to obtain some data. This

contains the research design, research participants and research instrument.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Qualitative type of research was used in this study wherein an unstructured way

of collecting and analyzing data that will be obtained from the more professional health

researchers with resources available to them even in this pandemic. We gathered

information with interviews as well as the various ways other abundantly resourced

researchers which involves the use of interview as a tool to derive results as well as other

competent research papers. Qualitative is also conclusive in its purpose as it tries to

interpret the problem and understand the different factors that affects the existing

problem. This study is a qualitative research through descriptive method as it leads

closely to the study’s purpose and objective to obtain data, perceptions. The study aims to

seek the many effects of online learning to students. This research in addition aims to

prove that this pandemic should not be an excuse to any students to lack in their health.

RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

The researchers had 11 respondents, all are in Manuel S. Enverga University

Foundation Candelaria to gather a valid and reliable data. The students of Manuel S.

Enverga University Foundation Candelaria who had undergone health problems and was

burdened to adapt are the target respondents of the researchers. Researchers selected the

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chosen respondents as they conclude that the students are reliable and satisfying because

the respondents are involved in the specific issue that the researchers wish to answer.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

The researchers will use interview that will test the respondents’ knowledge and

insight regarding their various health. The interview aims to gather information about the

effects of online learning in a physical, mental and social basis. There were only six

questions so the interviews weren't lengthy otherwise it would inconvenience the

interviewee and make them lose time on their other activities, i.e., long term projects. The

interview will serve as instrument in order for the researchers to derive the results. The

researchers will utilize semi-structured interview which has easy to answer questions

about the certain topic which is what is the perception of the students on their own health

during these trying times. The researchers made the questions by removing excess

dithering for easier to be understood and better communication.

RESEARCH LOCALE

This research will be done on December 2020 at home due to quarantine with

student participants from Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Candelaria,

Incorporated found in Malabanban Norte Candelaria, Quezon. The university is a private,

non-sectarian educational foundation that is named after its founder, Attorney Manuel S.

Enverga. The researchers all agreed that the university could give them sufficient

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information regarding the study. Due to the unavailability of respondents due to the

pandemic, the interview was conducted through zoom calls. The respondents from the

said university will be able to help the researchers to gain information as the respondents

experienced and perceived their own health either dwindling or thriving in this pandemic.

Since, the researchers are in the same school as well, cooperation and familiarity from the

respondents are expected.

RESU

LTS

The following presents the summary of the discussion regarding the interview

following the questions asked to the interviewees. The findings relate to the research

questions that guided the study. Data were analyzed to identify and describe. Data were

obtained from questions, completed by 3 participants which are students of Manuel S.

Enverga University Foundation Candelaria, Incorporated. The data that were acquired by

the researchers are supported from the review of related literature and studies of the

research paper.

1. As a student, do you think your health needs could be achieved through online

education?

Why? How?

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2. How do you view your online educational environment? E.g., Quality of graphics,

layout, user

friendly, navigation, etc.?

3. Is your physical needs being accommodated through online learning? Are you

becoming physically healthier or not?

4. Do you feel more depressed, mentally lethargic or cognitively apathetic during online

classes? If so, give your opinion on why.

5. How are your relationships with your class friends? Do you feel more close or distant

with them?

6. What factors would lead you to choose online educational programs rather than

traditional in-class instruction?

7. As a student, what could you do to improve the quality of your online education to

betyer provide for your health needs?

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8. What health factors, be it physical, mental or social, would lead you to choose online

educational programs rather than traditional in-class instruction?

CONCLUSION

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of students’ perception of

their health during their online learning as well as to inform the readers on student’s

health as well. Qualitative research methods used in this study were well suited to

achieve this goal. The depth of information gained through the analysis of interviews,

observations and archival data have provided a level of understanding that quantitative

methodology could not have. Flexibility of class participation time and self-paced study,

cost effectiveness of online class, electronic research availability, well-designed course

layout, ease connection of the Internet, easy navigation of the online class interface, and

familiarity with the instructor contributed to participants’ positive experiences which

contributed to the students health. Factors that contributed to student’ negative

experiences were: delayed feedback from instructor; unavailable technical support from

instructor, lack of self-regulation and self-motivation, sense of isolation, monotonous

instructional methods, and poorly-designed course content, all of which affected the

student’s mental health. This study also found that social health is necessary for students

and the feeling of familiarity with the instructor influenced students’ learning experiences

helped. When the online learner knows the online instructor, he/she may feel more

comfortable while taking the instructor’s online class. This study was conducted with

students from Manuel S Enverga University Foundation Candelaria. If a different

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interview technique had been chosen, the results could be different. When the online

education programs do not meet the benchmarks, students won’t perceive their online

education to be of high quality which will affect their health overall. This study has also

shown that more research needs to be conducted in the area of improving student’s health

and utilizing multi-media to enhance the on-line educational experiences of students in

regard to both course content and social connectedness.

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RISKS: THE INFLUENCE OF ONLINE LEARNING ON
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