Investigating predictors of online vigilance among university students

What is it about?

University campuses can be described as media-saturated environments and permanent online connectedness is the norm among both students and staff. While these environments support easy access to a plethora of web-based learning resources, they also provide ubiquitous access to social media platforms and extensive infotainment options. Online vigilance is a novel construct which describes individual differences in users’ cognitive orientation to online connectedness, their attention to and integration of online-related cues and stimuli, and their prioritisation of online communication. Its proponents argue that it is acquired through the processes of instrumental and attentional training that underlie media use behaviours. In the present study we adopted an exploratory frame and followed a survey-methodology to advance understanding of online vigilance among university students (n=812). Our results indicate that while media use behaviours (daily smartphone use, social media use, messaging, video watching and media multitasking) predict online vigilance, their combined effect is weak. However, when considering these behaviours in combination with trait rumination and identity distress, a moderate effect is observable. While our results do not permit causal inference, they provide an initial step towards the theorisation of online vigilance by identifying the personal and behavioural factors with which it is associated.

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