Research on the Cyberloafing Levels of Middle School Students

The aim of this study was to examine the cyberloafing behaviors of middle school students during the lesson or while studying. Within the scope of this aim, cyberloafing levels of middle school students were examined by comparing them with the web platforms they use. For this research; which was modelled with explanatory sequential mixed pattern, one of the mixed methods, 355 middle school students were selected through the convenient sampling method that is one of the purposive sampling methods. 24 students were interviewed for the qualitative part of the study. Quantitative data were collected via Personal Information Form, Cyberloafing Activities Scale; and qualitative data were collected via Semi-Structured Interview Form. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 program and content analysis. When the findings were examined, it was observed that the cyberloafing levels of middle school students were low. However, it was determined that students perform moderate cyberloafing in the "accessing content" and "sharing" sub-dimensions within the scope of the sub-dimensions of cyberloafing. It was observed that the cyberloafing behaviors of the students vary significantly in terms of their age, gender, and grade level. It was observed that middle school students mostly watch videos, listen to music, download applications, texting friends, etc., and perform cyberloafing on music websites, TV series websites, movie websites, YouTube, Instagram, and social media. In order to decrease the cyberloafing behaviors of middle school students, various suggestions were made, including the cooperation of parents and teachers.