LOST IN TIME: HOW DIGITAL INSTANT GRATIFICATION FUELS ACTIVE PROCRASTINATION THROUGH TIME DISSOCIATION

Abstract

Background:​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ In a fast-changing digital world, platforms that are always available and rely on algorithms to optimize have a significant influence on how young adults perceive time and carry out tasks. Unfortunately, this influence is often in such a way that it consolidates procrastination. The literature was found to be associating digital rewards, distorted time perception, and task delay, without however, explaining the mechanisms to such an extent. The latter, especially, in the case of active procrastination in everyday tech-mediated contexts.

Purpose: The current research focused on the interplay between Digital Instant Gratification (DIG), Time Dissociation (TD), and Active Procrastination (AP). It also explored the idea of TD being a mediator in the relationship between DIG and AP, thus resulting in a self-reinforcing procrastination circle among those who frequently use digital ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌media.

Methods:​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ A quantitative cross-sectional survey was carried out among 215 individuals aged 18-30, who were recruited through social media and university mailing list. The study employed three different standardized scales. The Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version (SAS-SV) by Kwon et al. For measuring time dissociation, the researchers used a modified version of the Flow State Scale. Lastly, the Active Procrastination Scale (APS) by Choi & Moran (2009) was used to calculate active procrastination levels among young adults. Data were collected via an online form. IBM​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0 (IBM Corp., 2017), and the PROCESS macro-Version 4.2 developed by Hayes (2022) were used to perform all statistical analyses. An alpha level of .05 was utilized as the point of statistical significance for all the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌analyses.

Results: Participants reported moderate average levels of DIG, TD, and AP. DIG correlated strongly and positively with TD (r ≈ .62) and AP (r ≈ .54), and TD was strongly related to AP (r ≈ .51), indicating that frequent digital rewards co‑occur with losing track of time and higher active procrastination. DIG showed a substantial total effect on AP (β ≈ 0.66), with a significant indirect path via TD (a × b = 0.207, 95% BootCI [0.0854, 0.3363]) and a remaining moderate direct effect when controlling for TD (c′ = 0.452), supporting partial mediation. 

Conclusion: There​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ is mainly an indirect connection between digital instant gratification and active procrastination, with the main mediator being time dissociation.