Too Connected to Feel Well? Student Engagement as a Moderator of Online Vigilance and Well-Being

Ratna Dyah Suryaratri; Deasyanti Deasyanti; Lussy Dwiutami Wahyuni

doi:10.59784/glosains.v7i2.727

Authors

Ratna Dyah Suryaratri Universitas Negeri Jakarta
Deasyanti Universitas Negeri Jakarta
Lussy Dwiutami Wahyuni Universitas Negeri Jakarta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59784/glosains.v7i2.727

Keywords:

Indonesian students, moderation, online vigilance, perma, psychological well-being, student engagement

Abstract

Background: The digital age has fostered the manifestation of online vigilance.

Objective: Based on this, the present study seeks to analyze how online vigilance influences the psychological well-being (PWB) of Indonesian students and the influence of student engagement on the relationship between online vigilance and PWB.

Methods: This study employed a sample of 504 active undergraduate students in Greater Jakarta as the primary sample population. Prior to the main data collection, instrument adaptation was conducted with 104 pilot participants to assess item clarity and preliminary psychometric properties. Three adapted instruments were used: OVS (Online Vigilance Scale), SES (Student Engagement Scale), and PWB-PERMA (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment).

Results: The results indicated that high online vigilance (M = 3.45, β = −0.382, p < 0.001) served as a significant negative predictor of well-being, whereas student engagement was a significant positive predictor of well-being (β = 0.493, p < 0.001). The interaction effect was not significant (β = 0.012, p = 0.118), but simple slope analysis suggested a trend whereby the negative effect of online vigilance was attenuated among students who were highly engaged. Results further indicated that online vigilance was a risk factor, whereas student engagement was a protective factor. Available online 11 October 2023.

Conclusion: The protective trend pointed to the need to increase youth literacy on academic engagement to maintain well-being in the digital age.

References

Brunzell, T., Stokes, H., & Waters, L. (2016). Trauma-informed positive education: Using positive psychology to strengthen vulnerable students. Contemporary School Psychology, 20(1), 63–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-015-0070-x

Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v6i3.526

Chu, T. L. A. (2022). Applying positive psychology to foster student engagement and classroom community amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 8(2), 154. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000271

Coyne, S. M., Rogers, A. A., Zurcher, J. D., Stockdale, L., & Booth, M. (2020). Does time spent using social media impact mental health?: An eight year longitudinal study. Computers in Human Behavior, 104, 106160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106160

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059

Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Publications.

Henrie, C. R., Halverson, L. R., & Graham, C. R. (2015). Measuring student engagement in technology-mediated learning: A review. Computers & Education, 90, 36–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.09.005

Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513

Hobfoll, S. E. (2011). Conservation of resource caravans and engaged settings. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84(1), 116–122. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.2010.02016.x

Hobfoll, S. E., Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J.-P., & Westman, M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5(1), 103–128. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104640

Huang, T., Liu, Y., Tan, T. C., Wang, D., Zheng, K., & Liu, W. (2023). Mobile phone dependency and sleep quality in college students during COVID-19 outbreak: The mediating role of bedtime procrastination and fear of missing out. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1200. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16065-6

Johannes, N., Meier, A., Reinecke, L., Ehlert, S., Setiawan, D. N., Walasek, N., Dienlin, T., Buijzen, M., & Veling, H. (2021). The relationship between online vigilance and affective well-being in everyday life: Combining smartphone logging with experience sampling. Media Psychology, 24(5), 581–605. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1696322

Kahu, E. R. (2013). Framing student engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 38(5), 758–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.598505

Kern, M. L., Waters, L. E., Adler, A., & White, M. A. (2015). A multidimensional approach to measuring well-being in students: Application of the PERMA framework. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10(3), 262–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.936962

Reinecke, L., Aufenanger, S., Beutel, M. E., Dreier, M., Quiring, O., Stark, B., Wölfling, K., & Müller, K. W. (2017). Digital stress over the life span: The effects of communication load and internet multitasking on perceived stress and psychological health impairments in a German probability sample. Media Psychology, 20(1), 90–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2015.1121832

Reinecke, L., Klimmt, C., Meier, A., Reich, S., Hefner, D., Knop-Huelss, K., Rieger, D., & Vorderer, P. (2018). Permanently online and permanently connected: Development and validation of the Online Vigilance Scale. PLOS ONE, 13(10), e0205384. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205384

Rosič, J., Schreurs, L., & Vandenbosch, L. (2025). Adolescents' perceptions regarding their smartphone use: Longitudinal relationships between perceived digital well-being and self-esteem. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 30(3), zmaf005. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmaf005

Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069

Saleem, M. S., Isha, A. S. N., Awan, M. I., Yusop, Y. B., & Naji, G. M. A. (2022). Fostering academic engagement in post-graduate students: Assessing the role of positive emotions, positive psychology, and stress. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 920395. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.920395

Salmela-Aro, K., & Motti-Stefanidi, F. (2022). Digital revolution and youth. European Psychologist. Hogrefe Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000476

Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon & Schuster.

Ten Brummelhuis, L. L., & Bakker, A. B. (2012). A resource perspective on the work–home interface: The work–home resources model. American Psychologist, 67(7), 545. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027974

Tinto, V. (2017). Reflections on student persistence. Student Success, 8(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v8i2.383

Vally, Z., & D'Souza, C. G. (2019). Abstinence from social media use, subjective well-being, stress, and loneliness. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 55(4), 752–759. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12401

Vanden Abeele, M. M. P. (2021). Digital wellbeing as a dynamic construct. Communication Theory, 31(4), 932–955. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtaa024