Digital well‑being among university students: The roles of smartphone use and self‑control

Abstract

The widespread integration of smartphones into university students’ daily lives has raised increasing concerns regarding digital well‑being in higher education. While smartphones support learning and communication, unregulated use may negatively affect students’ emotional balance and academic functioning. Guided by a behavioural self‑regulation perspective, this study examines smartphone use intensity and self‑control as predictors of digital well‑being among university students. Employing a quantitative, cross‑sectional research design, data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to undergraduate students. After data screening, 140 valid responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The findings reveal that smartphone use intensity is not significantly associated with digital well‑being, whereas self‑control demonstrates a strong and statistically significant positive relationship with digital well‑being. Further regression analysis confirms that self‑control is a significant predictor of digital well‑being, while smartphone use intensity does not exert an independent effect when self‑control is taken into account. These findings contribute empirical evidence to the digital well‑being literature by underscoring the importance of self‑regulatory capacity in supporting healthy digital engagement among university students.