COMPUTERS & EDUCATION, vol.190, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-methods research study was to investigate the role of smartphones in college students' mind-wandering during learning. In the quantitative phase of the study, data were collected from 402 college students in order to examine the extent to which college students' smartphone addiction predicts their level of mind-wandering. The result of a simple linear regression analysis indicated that college students' smartphone addiction explained 26% of variance in their level of mind-wandering. In the qualitative phase of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 college students in order to explain this relationship by exploring how smartphones influence college students' mind-wandering during learning. The analysis of these interviews revealed that messages, incoming calls, social media, and smartphone functions played a prominent role in college students' smartphone-related mind -wandering during lectures or whilst studying. The implications of these findings were discussed and some suggestions for future studies put forth.