Exploring the Relationship Between Doomscrolling and English Learning Motivation among EFL Students
Abstract
Doomscrolling refers to persistent scrolling through online content and may coincide with interruptions to students’ daily routines. This study examined the relationship between doomscrolling-related behavior and English-learning interference among respondents in English-related study programs in Indonesia. The Google Forms spreadsheet contained 51 submissions; 29 respondents whose self-reported program names identified English-related fields were included in the exploratory analysis. The questionnaire comprised 17 closed-ended five-point Likert statements and one open-ended question. Descriptive results showed that 19 of 29 respondents (65.5%) agreed or strongly agreed that they scrolled when tired or bored, and 16 of 29 (55.2%) reported difficulty focusing during English-learning sessions after being online for a long time. Pearson correlation indicated a moderate positive association between the doomscrolling-related behavior composite and the English-learning interference composite, r(27) = 0.55, p = 0.002, 95% CI [0.23, 0.76]. The findings indicate an association between self-reported digital behavior and learning interference, not a causal effect. The study also discusses digital self-regulation in relation to responsible use of time and moderation in Islamic educational contexts.
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