Cyberloafing Behaviors of Health Professional Students during Distance Education in the COVID-19 Pandemic Period

Abstract

Background: With the declaration of the new coronavirus (COVID ‐ 19) pandemic, which was detected in the Wuhan region of China and later seen in many countries of the world, education and training were significantly affected in all countries, and distance education started to be used in all areas of education. To this end, students can exhibit cyberloafing behaviors during distance education for various reasons. Thus, this study aims to determine the levels of cyberloafing and the factors affecting these behaviors of students studying in health programs during distance education. Methods: In this descriptive study, 405 students studying in the health programs of various private and public universities in Turkey and met the criteria for inclusion in the study formed the research sample. Results: When the students’ tools to access distance education during the pandemic process were compared, it was found that students using computers had higher levels of cyberloafing activities than those using other tools (p<0,05). Conclusions: Distance education keeps students connected to technological tools, increases the risk of engaging in activities irrelevant to the course, and thus leads them to exhibit cyberloafing behaviors.
 Keywords: Distance education; cyberloafing; COVID-19

Examining the relationship between fear of COVID-19, intolerance for uncertainty, and cyberloafing: A mediational model

“…For example, Zhou et al (2021) found that hindrance stressors affect cyberloafing through the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. To the best of our knowledge, stressors related to COVID-19 and cyberloafing have not yet been examined; however, recent work by Ozdemir et al, 2021 , Chavan et al, 2021 suggests that cyberloafing is a common phenomenon among students during remote in the current pandemic.…”

ÖZEL YETENEKLİ ÖĞRENCİLERİN DİJİTAL OKURYAZARLIK ve SİBERAYLAKLIK DÜZEYLERİ ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİNİN İNCELENMESİ

“…Remote teaching has been used across all subject areas of education, particularly during the global pandemic. Institutions have created infrastructures for online education, and several educational institutions have completed entire academic calendars using remote teaching (Özdemir, Yıldız & Şahan, 2021). Internet technologies may have a positive impact on students by providing them with timely access to information and updated resources in their areas.…”

Emotion regulation, e‐learning readiness, technology usage status, in‐class smartphone cyberloafing, and smartphone addiction in the time of COVID‐19 pandemic

“…The findings of a recent study that was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that smartphones are used frequently for e-learning, but at the same time, being connected to technological tools increases the risk of engaging in activities that are not related to the course content, which might lead to cyberloafing behaviours (Ozdemir et al, 2021). During students' educational activities, the efficiency and productivity in learning are affected by cyberloafing activities due to the use of smartphones during classes (Saritepeci, 2020).…”