It was almost exclusively fear of missing out, not interest in a two-hour lecture on jurisprudence, that propelled me onto Mona Vale Road to campus on a Friday afternoon.

Stay home and download the lecture – how would I make pals? There was no bar in my parents’ suburban home, either, so what fun could be had there?

Nearly two decades ago, I was not alone in ditching what was then the emerging technology that made remote learning possible in favour of an elderly South African academic – live and in person – for reasons totally extraneous to the study of the law.

Leanne Baddah, 19, saves herself an hour-long trip to Macquarie University from her Bexley home multiple times a week thanks to online learning, but this hampers making friends.…