Cyberloafing Behavior as A Sustainable Online Distance Learning Challenge

Authors

  • Hermeilia Megawati, S.Psi., M.A. Psychology Department Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9867-0576
  • Ratna Dyah Suryaratri, Ph.D. Master of Science in Psychology Faculty of Psychology Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Dr. Anna Armeini Rangkuti, S.Psi., M.Si Master of Science in Psychology Faculty of Psychology Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Sri Juwita Kusumawardhani, M.Psi., Psikolog Faculty of Psychology Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47679/jopp.8415372026

Keywords:

student cyberloafing, online distance learning, digital distraction, student engagement, higher education

Abstract

Online distance learning has become an important component of post-pandemic higher education, yet its reliance on internet-connected technologies may also increase opportunities for student cyberloafing. Although cyberloafing has been widely examined in workplace settings, its manifestations and dynamics in online higher education remain less understood, particularly in Indonesia. This study explored the forms of student cyberloafing during online distance learning, its perceived causes and impacts, and the conditions that reinforce its recurrence. An exploratory qualitative design was employed involving 18 active university students with experience in distance learning from universities located in the Greater Jakarta area, Indonesia. The participants were divided into three focus groups, with six students in each group. Data were collected through three focus group discussions conducted on 22–24 June 2023 and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: (1) forms of cyberloafing, including social media use, online entertainment, shopping, gaming, and other off-task online activities; (2) perceived causes, particularly boredom, characteristics and difficulty of learning materials, easy smartphone access, and limited instructor supervision; (3) perceived impacts, including reduced concentration and understanding, additional study time, and short-term psychological refreshing; and (4) reinforcing conditions, including limited consequences, low interaction and supervision, and group norms. These findings indicate that cyberloafing in online distance learning is shaped not only by technology use, but also by motivational, cognitive, and contextual factors. Addressing these factors is important for strengthening student engagement and supporting the sustainable implementation of online learning in higher education.

Author Biographies

Hermeilia Megawati, S.Psi., M.A., Psychology Department Universitas Negeri Jakarta

Hermeilia Megawati is a lecturer in the bachelor’s degree in psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Negeri Jakarta. She completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2011 and Master of Science in Psychology in 2014 at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Her academic interests focus on social psychology and apply social psychology, with teaching areas that include Social Cognition, Social Influence, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Community Psychology, and Qualitative Research Methods. Alongside her teaching, research, and community service activities, she actively collaborates with non-governmental organizations in implementing community empowerment programs. She has also contributed book chapters to Manusia Digital dalam Perspektif Psikologi (2022), Bunga Rampai Pemikiran Pendidikan (2024), Psikologi Komunitas: Peran Aktif Psikologi Untuk Masyarakat (2024), Dasar – Dasar Psikologi (2025), and Psikologi Lingkungan Perkotaan: Interaksi Manusia Dan Lanskap Kota.

Ratna Dyah Suryaratri, Ph.D., Master of Science in Psychology Faculty of Psychology Universitas Negeri Jakarta

Ratna Dyah Suryaratri is a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Pertanian Bogor, and completed her master’s degree in educational psychology at Universitas Indonesia. She obtained her PhD from the School of Education, Charles Darwin University, Australia, on 14 October 2016, with the support of the DIKTI DIA Bermutu Scholarship Program from the Indonesian Government. Her research interests focus on positive psychology in education and digital well-being within academic contexts.

Dr. Anna Armeini Rangkuti, S.Psi., M.Si, Master of Science in Psychology Faculty of Psychology Universitas Negeri Jakarta

Anna Armeini Rangkuti completed her bachelor's degree at the Faculty of Psychology, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), in 2001. The author then pursued a master’s degree and a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Indonesia (UI). The author has expertise in research methods and measurement involving various psychological variables. Numerous studies have been conducted, and the results have been disseminated through reputable books and journals, both nationally and internationally. The themes of the author’s writings, which are the results of various research studies, include academic integrity, teachers’ self-efficacy, peer reporting, and silence in various contexts.

Sri Juwita Kusumawardhani, M.Psi., Psikolog, Faculty of Psychology Universitas Negeri Jakarta

Sri Juwita Kusumawardhani, M.Psi., Psychologist is a clinical psychologist and lecturer at Universitas Negeri Jakarta. She earned her master’s degree in Adult Clinical Psychology from the University of Indonesia. Her professional interests focus on romantic relationships, marriage preparation, and parental mental health. She practices at several psychological service centers, including LPTUI, TigaGenerasi, and Kalea. She is the co-author of Anti Panik Mempersiapkan Pernikahan and Cinta di Segala Musim, a certified facilitator of the SYMBIS (Save Your Marriage Before It Starts) program, and has received training in the Gottman Method for couples. She is also the founder of Cinta Setara and currently serves as Vice Chair I of the Jakarta Regional Chapter of the Indonesian Clinical Psychologists Association (IPK Indonesia).

References

Akbulut, Y., Dursun, Ö. Ö., Dönmez, O., & Şahin, Y. L. (2016). In search of a measure to investigate cyberloafing in educational settings. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 616–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.002

Allen, M., Mabry, E., Mattrey, M., Bourhis, J., Titsworth, S., & Burrell, N. (2004). Evaluating the effectiveness of distance learning: A comparison using meta-analysis. Journal of Communication, 54(3), 402–420. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02636.x

Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Verbeke, W. (2004). Using the job demands-resources model to predict burnout and performance. Human Resource Management, 43(1), 83–104. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20004

Block, W. (2001). Cyberslacking, business ethics and managerial economics. Journal of Business Ethics, 33(3), 225–231. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012002902693

Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 297–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613

de Silva Joyce, H., & Feez, S. (Eds.). (2018). Multimodality across classrooms: Learning about and through different modalities. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203701072

Espasa, A., & Meneses, J. (2010). Analysing feedback processes in an online teaching and learning environment: An exploratory study. Higher Education, 59(3), 277–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9247-4

Feng, S., Wong, Y. K., Wong, L. Y., & Hossain, L. (2019). The Internet and Facebook usage on academic distraction of college students. Computers & Education, 134, 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.02.005

Ferri, F., Grifoni, P., & Guzzo, T. (2020). Online learning and emergency remote teaching: Opportunities and challenges in emergency situations. Societies, 10(4), Article 86. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc10040086

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059

Gökçearslan, Ş., Yildiz Durak, H., & Esiyok, E. (2023). Emotion regulation, e-learning readiness, technology usage status, in-class smartphone cyberloafing, and smartphone addiction in the time of COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(5), 1450–1464. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12785

Greenfield, D. N., & Davis, R. A. (2002). Lost in cyberspace: The web @ work. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 5(4), 347–353. https://doi.org/10.1089/109493102760275590

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020, March 27). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning

Kalaycı, E. (2010). The investigation of relationship between cyberloafing and self-regulated learning strategies among undergraduate students [Unpublished master's thesis]. Hacettepe University.

Karali, F. S., Tosun, S., Şen-Aksüt, M., & Kaçar-Kütükçü, D. (2024). Determination of cyberloafing level of speech and language therapy department students. Heliyon, 10(10), Article e31068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31068

Laxman, K., & Holt, C. (2017). Bring your own device or bring your own distraction. International Journal on E-Learning, 16(3), 245–263. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/171235/

Markova, T., Glazkova, I., & Zaborova, E. (2017). Quality issues of online distance learning. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 237, 685–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.043

Metin-Orta, I., & Demirtepe-Saygılı, D. (2023). Cyberloafing behaviors among university students: Their relationships with positive and negative affect. Current Psychology, 42(13), 11101–11114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02374-3

Mihelič, K. K., Lim, V. K. G., & Culiberg, B. (2023). Cyberloafing among Gen Z students: The role of norms, moral disengagement, multitasking self-efficacy, and psychological outcomes. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 38(2), 567–585. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-022-00617-w

Muhammad, A., Shaikh, A., Naveed, Q. N., & Qureshi, M. R. N. (2020). Factors affecting academic integrity in e-learning of Saudi Arabian universities: An investigation using Delphi and AHP. IEEE Access, 8, 16259–16268. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2967499

Offir, B., Lev, Y., & Bezalel, R. (2008). Surface and deep learning processes in distance education: Synchronous versus asynchronous systems. Computers & Education, 51(3), 1172–1183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2007.10.009

Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18(4), 315–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9

Pekrun, R. (2024). Control-value theory: From achievement emotion to a general theory of human emotions. Educational Psychology Review, 36, Article 83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09909-7

Ravizza, S. M., Uitvlugt, M. G., & Fenn, K. M. (2017). Logged in and zoned out. Psychological Science, 28(2), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616677314

Sarıtepeci, M., & Sert, U. (2021). Cyberloafing level of university students: A scale development study. Research on Education and Psychology, 5(1), 41–52. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/rep/issue/63330/919481

Sheikh, A., Atashgah, M. S., & Adibzadegan, M. (2015). The antecedents of cyberloafing: A case study in an Iranian copper industry. Computers in Human Behavior, 51, 172–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.042

Singh, R., Singh, S. K., & Mishra, N. (2024). Influence of e-learning on the students of higher education in the digital era: A systematic literature review. Education and Information Technologies, 29(15), 20201–20221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12604-3

Taneja, A., Fiore, V., & Fischer, B. (2015). Cyber-slacking in the classroom: Potential for digital distraction in the new age. Computers & Education, 82, 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.11.009

Yanti, F. P., Nasution, I. N., & Aiyuda, N. (2022). Berselancar di internet untuk menghilangkan rasa bosan ketika melakukan pembelajaran daring. Jurnal Riset Psikologi, 2(2), 109–114. https://doi.org/10.29313/jrp.v2i2.1600

Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2

Downloads

Published

2026-11-04

How to Cite

Megawati, H., Suryaratri, R. D., Rangkuti, A. A., & Kusumawardhani, S. J. (2026). Cyberloafing Behavior as A Sustainable Online Distance Learning Challenge. Journal of Psychological Perspective, 8(4), 301–312. https://doi.org/10.47679/jopp.8415372026

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 4 (2026)

Section

Empirical Research

Citation Check

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Hermeilia Megawati, Ratna Dyah Suryaratri, Anna Armeini Rangkuti, Sri Juwita Kusumawardhani

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Journal of Psychological Perspective (JOPP) is committed to promoting academic freedom and open access. To that end, we apply a copyright policy that empowers authors while ensuring the broad dissemination and responsible reuse of published work. More...

 

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.