Exploring Undergraduate Students’ Digital Multitasking in Class: An Empirical Study in China

Qikai Wang, Fei Sun, Xiaochen Wang () and Yang Gao ()
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Qikai Wang: School of Foreign Languages, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Fei Sun: School of Foreign Languages, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Xiaochen Wang: School of Foreign Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Yang Gao: School of Foreign Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights the crucial role of education in securing a promising future for humanity, especially in today’s digital era. However, the prevalence of smartphones has fostered an increase in students’ usage and subsequent digital multitasking tendencies, posing a significant threat to education process, especially in higher education. To gain further insights into this phenomenon, this exploratory descriptive study surveyed 519 students from China university to investigate the magnitude of students’ digital multitasking, motivation behind digital multitasking, and beliefs about reducing phone use. The study found that, (1) despite many respondents reporting the existence of phone limits, no possible reduction in phone use frequency was observed; (2) digital multitasking was positively correlated with mobile phone dependence and non-study motivation; (3) while a majority (86.71%) students expressed their intent to reduce digital multitasking, they were mostly hesitant to follow the moderate or strict rules on phone use; (4) no clear consensus was established (49.90% vs. 50.10%) regarding whether schools should pose more restrictions to encourage such reduction. Our research provides further insights into students’ digital multitasking to improve learning quality and sustainable education.

Keywords: digital multitasking; smartphone use; motivation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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