Mindfulness, Digital Distraction, and Academic Engagement among College Students: An Empirical Study

Abstract

The increasing use of smartphones and digital platforms has created challenges for maintaining students’ attention and academic engagement. This study examines the relationships among mindfulness, digital distraction, digital self-control, academic concentration, and academic engagement among college students. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 150 college students using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, reliability analysis, and multiple regression were used to analyse the data. The findings indicate that mindfulness, digital self-control, and academic concentration are significantly and positively associated with academic engagement. Academic concentration emerged as the strongest predictor, followed by digital self-control and mindfulness. The regression model explained approximately 67.2% of the variance in academic engagement, while digital distraction did not make a statistically significant independent contribution. The findings suggest that developing mindful attention and digital self-regulation may be more important for strengthening academic engagement than simply reducing smartphone exposure.