Internet addiction and mind-wandering in Chinese college students: chain mediation roles of physical activity and self-control

Description

Wenjie Zhu, Wenping Zhu, and Yizhuo Fan traced how heavy internet use links to a wandering mind in college students, in a 2026 study. Phones keep students half-present in class, and mind-wandering marks weak attentional control. Nearly three and a half thousand Chinese students filled in scales for internet addiction, mind-wandering, physical activity, and self-control. The team modeled the paths among the four.

Addiction scores rose with mind-wandering and fell with activity and self-control. Activity and self-control each tied to less wandering, and active students showed stronger self-control. The model found a direct path from addiction to wandering, plus indirect paths through activity alone, self-control alone, and a chain of the two. The authors suggest that campus programs pairing exercise with self-control training could steady attention. They stress the data show links, not proof of cause.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13593867