The Effectiveness of Self-Regulation Based Group Guidance in Reducing Students' Tendency Towards Excessive Digital Device Use
Abstract
Excessive digital device use has become a growing concern among students because it may impair concentration, social interaction, and self-regulation. This study examined the effectiveness of self-regulation-based group guidance in reducing students' tendency towards excessive digital device use. A quantitative quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control-group design was employed, involving 16 junior secondary school students who were equally assigned to the experimental and control groups. Data were collected using the Digital Device Use Tendency Scale (Cronbach's α = 0.931) and analysed using normality tests, homogeneity tests, paired-samples t-tests, and independent-samples t-tests. The experimental group demonstrated greater improvement than the control group, with a higher N-gain score (50.38% compared wtih 43.49%) and a statistically significant difference between groups (p = .039). These findings indicate that self-regulation-based group guidance effectively reduces students' tendency toward excessive digital device use and represents a promising school-based preventive intervention for promoting healthier digital behavior.
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