Abstract
As mobile technology allows users to be online anywhere and at all times, a growing number of users report feeling constantly alert and preoccupied with online streams of online information and communication - a phenomenon that has recently been termed online vigilance. Despite its growing prevalence, consequences of this constant orientation toward online streams of information and communication for users' well-being are largely unclear. In the present study, we investigated whether being constantly vigilant is related to cognitive consequences in the form of increased mind-wandering and decreased mindfulness and examined the resulting implications for well-being. To test our assumptions, we estimated a path model based on survey data (N?=?371). The model supported the majority of our preregistered hypotheses: online vigilance was indeed related to mind-wandering and mindfulness, but only mindfulness mediated the relationship with decreased well-being. Thus, those mentally preoccupied with online communication were overall less satisfied with their lives and reported less affective well-being when they also experienced reduced mindfulness.
| Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 761-767 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |