Social Anxiety in E-Learning

Online learning is an important solution to meet the increasing demand for learning in today’s higher education institutions. An examination of the literature reveals that the types, duration, and number of interactions of learners in learning environments are important predictors of their learning performance (Nandi et al., 2011; Yu & Jo, 2014). In the context of distance and online education, interaction types are divided into the following three subcategories: (a) interaction with content, (b) interaction with the instructor, and (c) interaction with the learners (Moore, 1989). Learly (1983) reported that individuals with social anxiety avoid giving performances to reduce social risks and refrain from interacting with others and exhibiting behaviors that may harm their personal image. It is known that different anxiety types such as computer, language, and social anxiety effectively keep students away from e-learning (Ajmal & Ahmad, 2019). Potential privacy risks regarding personal information or distinguishing characteristics cause social anxiety in online communication (Alkis, Kadirhan, & Sat, 2017).