The system of education should provide a confident transition to a new era and be sensible to new time, demands and requests of the consumers. Digitalization of education is aimed at the training of specialists who are confident users of mobile and internet technologies as well as oriented at the continuous learning (professional retraining) with the help of online courses. The present article analyzes the problems of implementation of online education in higher educational establishments in modern epoch of digitalization of society; it also studies the respecttive risks and opportunities. As any new technology, digitalization of education has its limitations and advantages. A research, conducted with the help of questionnaire created by the author, has shown a high level of awareness of respondents about online learning and a relatively high interest in such learning. Online learning shows the lower degree of fatigue than traditional form. The advantages of online learning are the following: possibility to combine education and work or studies, accessibility, possibility to study at an individual pace, time saving and mobility. The main disadvantages of online learning are: high probability of not completing the course; the lack of communication with the teacher; decrease in the quality of education. The lack of communication necessary for human development is the main reason for that. The main threats to the health of respondents were vision problems, screen dependence and problems with the development of speech in children. © 2023 Author(s).