The relationship of student happiness with academic cyberloafing and phubbing

Background and relevance. The relevance of this study stems from the need to assess both the opportunities and risks associated with the use of digital technologies in everyday life. Currently, there is a limited body of empirical research examining cyberloafing (using smartphones for personal purposes during work or academic activities) and phubbing (using smartphones during face-to-face social interactions) in relation to individuals’ perceptions of their own happiness. Existing scientific literature presents conflicting evidence regarding the association between digital technology use and subjective happiness. Objective. To investigate the relationship between individuals’ conceptions of personal happiness and academic cyberloafing and phubbing behaviors. Hypothesis. Based on existing theoretical and empirical studies, we hypothesized that conceptions of personal happiness are associated with levels of academic cyberloafing and phubbing. Methods and materials. Empirical data were collected using the following instruments: the Cyberloafing Scale developed by Y. Akbulut et al. (Russian adaptation by N.V. Sivrikova), the Phubbing Scale by Karadağ et al. (Russian adaptation by D.S. Sivrikova and N.V. Sivrikova), and a supplementary questionnaire. Data analysis employed correlational analysis and CHAID (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection) decision tree modeling. The study involved 248 participants aged 14 to 25 years. Results. The findings contribute to the current understanding of youth happiness in the context of media consumption. Happiness levels were found to be associated with participants’ gender and age. Moreover, specific conceptions of happiness were significantly linked to both phubbing and academic cyberloafing behaviors. In particular, individuals who defined happiness as achieving balance and harmony exhibited lower levels of academic cyberloafing. Additionally, women who associated happiness with safety and peace demonstrated lower levels of phubbing. Conclusions. The results confirmed the existence of a relationship between conceptions of personal happiness and academic cyberloafing. A negative correlation was found between conceptions of personal happiness and academic cyberloafing and phubbing.

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