Cyberloafing in academia: a sequential exploration into students’ perceptions

• Published in: Education and information technologies 2023-07, Vol.28 (7), p.8113-8133
• Main Authors: Heidari, Elham, Moghaddam, Alireza, Salimi, Ghasem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attention; Book publishing; Classroom Environment; College Students; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Mediated Communication; Computer Science; Computer Use; Computers and Education; Distance learning; Education; Education parks; Educational Technology; Focus Groups; Handheld Devices; Higher education; Incidence; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Internet; Interpersonal relations; Interviews; Learning Activities; Mixed methods research; Motivation; Online instruction; School facilities; Social networks; Student Attitudes; Student Behavior; Student Experience; Students; Surveys; Telecommunications; Time Management; Trust (Psychology); User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction
• ISSN: 1360-2357; 1573-7608
• DOI: 10.1007/s10639-022-11524-4

This study intended to explore students’ perceptions of cyberloafing and how they experience it in and out of class in a higher education institution and evaluate the prevalence of these behaviours among them. It is an area overlooked in a country that has extensively invested in information and communication technologies in its universities in recent years. We adopted a sequential mixed-method approach by performing four focus group interviews with bachelor, master, and doctoral students. To broaden our understanding of the interview responses on a larger scale, we extended the study by a survey that emerged from the qualitative findings. The qualitative component resulted in four primary areas: activities, tools, reasons, and outcomes of cyberloafing, with nine main themes supported by the theory of interpersonal behaviour. Findings revealed that students cyberloafed for various reasons, of which the lack of participation in learning activities was crucial. The sequential survey confirmed the qualitative findings showing the prevalence of cyberloafing behaviours. The study opens a window into cyberloafing where building trust between students and instructors to talk about it is rarely established. Such trust-building in a context where power differentials exist could be even more challenging when the vulnerable side (students) challenges the instructor who is in a power position.