Effect of cyberloafing and internet addiction on academic procrastination among university students: A predictive study
Keywords:
Cyberloafing, Internet Addiction, Academic Procrastination, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Online ActivitiesAbstract
Neglecting academic work is a common problem among students. This problem becomes more intense when students have access to the internet provided by universities for instructional purposes. They engage in non-academic online activities instead of doing academic work. This research study aimed to examine the effect of cyberloafing and internet addiction on academic procrastination at the university level. The objectives of the study were to determine the effect of cyberloafing on academic procrastination and to examine the role of internet addiction in academic procrastination among university students. The study was quantitative in nature. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. 830 students from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences were selected conveniently to collect data on all three variables. Research instruments were adopted for all three variables. Data were entered in SPSS software for analysis. Regression analysis was run to find out the effect of cyberloafing and internet addiction. The results revealed that both research hypotheses were failed to accept. Cyberloafing and internet addiction both are predictors of academic procrastination among university students.
Downloads
References
Abdullah, H. S. L., Amalia, R., Indreswari, H., Hambali, I. M., Aditya, R. S., & Rusnila, R. (2026). Smartphone Use, Social Media, and Academic Procrastination in Secondary Education: A Multi Method Approach Investigation with Implications for School-Based Interventions. Buletin Konseling Inovatif, 6(2), 83-97.
Abdollahi, A., Maleki Farah, N., Panahipour, S., & Allen, K. A. (2020). Academic hardiness as a moderator between evaluative concerns, perfectionism, and academic procrastination in students. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 181(5), 365–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2020.1783194
Bala, A., Khan, M. A., & Ramakrishna, P. (2025). Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Impact and Future. International Journal of Contemporary Research in Multidisciplinary, 4(3).
Bombaes, A., Cosico, M. T. D., Pimentel, F. A., Cabig, M. A., Leron, A., Hoñez, S., Cada, L. R., & Laguna, M. J. (2023). College students' cognitive absorption, cyberloafing, psychological capital, and academic procrastination: An empirical perspective from Capiz Province. Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 13(3).
Çakmak, N., & Gökçearslan, Ş. (2025). Academic motivation, cyberloafing, and multiscreen addiction in university students. International Journal of Turkish Education Sciences, 13(2), 822-854.
Carpio, C. L. M., Ablan, A. M., Rivera, R. R. R., & Villarica, M. V. (2025). Investigating the Triggers and Outcomes of Academic Procrastination in an Online Learning Environment amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Institutional Research South East Asia, 23(2), 182.
Chong, K. L., Nifa, F. A. A., & Peh, W. C. (2021). Factor contributing to Internet addiction and its influence on academic procrastination behavior among UUM students. Journal of Governance and Development (JGD), 17(2), 61-75.
Çiftçi, S., & Çengel Schoville, M. (2026). Cyberloafing in education: A systematic review. İnsan ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 9(1), 22–45. https://doi.org/10.53048/johass.1918919
Ergün, E., & Altun, A. (2012). The student’s perspective of cyberloafing and its causes. Educational Technology Theory and Practice, 2(1), 36-53.
Farooq, A., Shah, T., & Amin, F. (2024). Academic Procrastination and Academic Performance among Conventional and Online Learners: Understanding Role of Learners’ Characteristics. Journal of Educators Online, 21(3), 1.
Fazal, S., Nazir, F., Khan, M. I., & Khan, S. I. (2025). Gender equity in higher education in Pakistan: Bridging dreams and realities. Australian Feminist Studies, 40(123), 41-59.
Gadosey, C. K., Schnettler, T., Scheunemann, A., Fries, S., & Grunschel, C. (2021). The intraindividual co-occurrence of anxiety and hope in procrastination episodes during exam preparations: An experience sampling study. Learning and Individual Differences, 88, 102013.
Güleç, S., & Yıldız, H. (2024). The mediating role of cyberloafing in the relationship between willpower and academic procrastination among high school students. International Journal of Turkish Education Sciences, 12(3).
Guo, Y., Song, Y., & Guo, J. (2025). The curvilinear relationship between cyberloafing and academic performance among college students: An empirical evidence from China. Education and Information Technologies, 30, 18327–18346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-025-13499-4
Hidalgo-Fuentes, S. (2022). Uso problemático de Internet y procrastinación en estudiantes: Un meta-análisis [Problematic Internet use and procrastination in students: A meta-analysis]. European Journal of Education and Psychology, 15(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.32457/ejep.v15i1.1815
He, D., Shi, H., Hu, Y., Tang, M., & Huang, W. (2026). Future time perspective and cyberloafing in Chinese adolescents: the multiple mediating role of self-control and excessive smartphone use. BMC psychology, 14(1), 436.
Huanambal-Pérez, M. E., Calixtro-Ruiz, E. J., Cunza-Aranzábal, D. F., & Abanto-Ramírez, C. D. (2026). Relationship between Procrastination and Perceived Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Internet Addiction. Education Sciences, 16(1), 106.
Khan, A., Aziz, A., Khan, N. A., Fatima, N., & Ashraf, N. (2025). Internet Addiction, Academic Procrastination and Self-Esteem among University Students. Journal of Social Horizons, 2(2), 10-18.
Lim, V. K. (2002). The IT way of loafing on the job: Cyberloafing, neutralizing and organizational justice. Journal of organizational behavior, The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 23(5), 675-694.
Liu, S., Zou, S., Zhang, D., Wang, X., & Wu, X. (2022). Problematic Internet use and academic engagement during the COVID-19 lockdown: The indirect effects of depression, anxiety, and insomnia in early, middle, and late adolescence. Journal of Affective Disorders, 309, 9-18.
Magray, A. A., & Chakraborty, R. (2024). Internet Addiction and Academic Procrastination among College Students: A Comprehensive Study. Journal of Research & Innovations in Education, 10(2), 102-109.
Madjid, A., Sutoyo, D. A., & Shodiq, S. F. (2021). Academic procrastination among students: The influence of social support and resilience mediated by religious character. Jurnal Cakrawala Pendidikan, 40(1), 56–69. https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v40i1.34641
Margaretha, M., Saragih, S., Mariana, A., & Simatupang, K. M. (2022). Academic procrastination and cyberloafing behavior: A case study of students in Indonesia. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 17(3), 752–764. https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v17i3.6904
McCloskey, J., & Scielzo, S. A. (2015). Finally, The development and validation of the academic procrastination scale. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Manger, N., & Rai, S. (2025). Beating the Deadline: Exploring the Impact of Academic Procrastination on Academic Achievement among College Students in Sikkim. ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities, 2(8), 13-22.
Nugraha, H. S., & Rahayu, M. N. M. (2025). Internet Addiction and Academic Procrastination: Exploring the Relationship among Students of SMAN 1 Gabus. Jurnal Psikologi Wijaya Putra, 6(2).
Şahin, Y. L. (2020). A review on Facebook social network users' behaviors of academic procrastination and cyberloafing in educational settings. Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 21(1).
Saleem, K., & Rauf, N. K. (2024). Impacts of Problematic Internet use Among Adolescents of Pakistan: A Qualitative Inquiry. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal, 74(4), 1114.
Sarıtepeci, M., & Sert, U. (2021). Cyberloafing level of university students: A scale development study. Research on Education and Psychology, 5(1), 41-52.
Svartdal, F., Dahl, T. I., Gamst-Klaussen, T., Koppenborg, M., & Klingsieck, K. B. (2020). How study environments foster academic procrastination: Overview and recommendations. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 540910. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.540910
Tezer, M. (2020). Academic procrastination behaviours and problematic internet usage of high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic period. International Journal of Special Education and Information Technologies, 6(1), 01-17.
Trautwein, U., Eberhart, J., Dignath, C., Bonner, C. V., & Roberts, B. W. (2026). Self-regulation competence as a superpower: An integrated framework for K-12. Educational Psychology Review, 38, 95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10190-z
Twum, R., Yarkwah, C., & Nkrumah, I. K. (2021). Utilisation of the Internet for cyberloafing activities among university students. Journal of Digital Educational Technology, 1(1), Article ep2101. https://doi.org/10.21601/jdet/10912
Vitak, J., Crouse, J., & LaRose, R. (2011). Personal Internet use at work: Understanding cyberslacking. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1751–1759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.03.002
Young, K. (2009). Internet addiction: diagnosis and treatment considerations. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 39(4), 241-246.
Downloads
Published
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Hina Gull, Dr. Asif Iqbal, Dr. Rabia Maryam, Dr. Muhammad Usman (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
