This study investigates the relationship between higher education students' demographic backgrounds and their interactions and experiences with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using a quantitative cross-sectional online survey of students across China. The survey was distributed from October 10, 2021, to October 12, 2021, with 313 respondents. The results indicate that most participants had lower satisfaction with online learning, which could be due to the face-to-face learning pedagogy was mainly adopted in China before the pandemic. Over 90% of participants used more than one learning management system (LMS) in 2020 and 2021, which might be due to Chinese universities' lack of relevant unified management. Based on the sociocultural learning theory, measures like including extra learning assistance, such as instructional designers, may improve the adaptability of instructors and learners when unexpected changes occur in the social environment and learners are slow or fail to adapt as necessary.