How Cyberloafing Affects Students’ Cognitive Engagement and Psychological Detachment in Higher Education Classes?

Abstract

While the right usage of technology brings a plethora of benefits, misusing technological devices and the Internet in an educational context can manifest in different behavioral tendencies. This ranges from growing addiction to technology and cyberbullying to technological anxiety and technostress. Yet, the effects of cyberloafing on students’ academic performance and engagement during class have attracted the attention of professors and educational decision-makers. Thus, the article aims to analyze the impact of cyberloafing intentions and cyberloafing practices on students’ psychological detachment and cognitive engagement among higher education students who are studying business and economics, using a structural equation modeling (SEM) methodological approach grounded in survey data. The findings stress that cyberloafing intention positively impacts cyberloafing habits and activities, further decreasing students’ cognitive engagement and increasing their psychological detachment from classes, while the grade point average (GPA) positively affects cognitive engagement. This underscores significant potential implications for both scholars and practitioners.