{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T07:02:27Z","timestamp":1789542147428,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The widespread use of mobile devices in educational settings suggests that smartphones may function both as learning tools and as potential sources of distraction. Existing cross-sectional studies have been unable to adequately explain the dynamic causal relationships among technology acceptance, digital distraction, and academic engagement.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aims to examine the reciprocal relationships among these three variables using a longitudinal design, thereby providing empirical evidence for the integration of educational technology.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A three-wave longitudinal survey (conducted at six-month intervals) was administered to an initial sample of 1,200 high school students from three public secondary schools in eastern China; 1,020 participants (retention rate: 85.0%) were retained through all three waves and included in the final analysis (attrition confirmed as non-systematic via Little\u2019s MCAR test,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.78). Data were collected using validated scales assessing technology acceptance, classroom digital distraction, and academic engagement. Cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) and bootstrap mediation analysis (5,000 resamples) were employed to examine reciprocal longitudinal relationships and indirect effects among the variables.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      (1) Technology acceptance positively predicted subsequent digital distraction (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.12\u20130.14,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01) but had no significant direct effect on academic engagement. (2) Digital distraction negatively predicted subsequent academic engagement (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f\u22120.23\u2212\u22120.25,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). (3) Academic engagement negatively predicted subsequent digital distraction (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f\u22120.08 to \u22120.09,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05) and positively predicted subsequent technology acceptance (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.18 to 0.20,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). (4) Digital distraction fully mediated the relationship between technology acceptance and academic engagement (indirect effect\u202f=\u202f\u22120.032, 95% CI\u202f=\u202f[\u22120.059, \u22120.013]).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The role of mobile phones in education is neither a fixed \u201cpower tool\u201d nor an inevitable \u201cdistractor,\u201d but rather depends on the dynamic interaction among technological perceptions, behavioral regulation, and learning contexts. The educational value of technology adoption should undergo a transformative process of \u201cassessment,\u201d in which digital distraction serves as a critical gatekeeper. Educational practice should transcend the binary dilemma of \u201cprohibition\u201d versus \u201coveruse\u201d and focus on cultivating students\u2019 self-regulation skills and critical literacy in technology use, thereby advancing an educational philosophy of \u201cteaching according to individual aptitude\u201d in the digital age.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1831165","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T06:07:43Z","timestamp":1789538863000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Smartphones in the classroom: power tool or source of distraction? Evidence from a cross-lagged panel study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xiaogang","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Gansu Forestry Voctech University","place":["Tianshui, Gansu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liping","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gansu Forestry Voctech University","place":["Tianshui, Gansu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"659","DOI":"10.1007\/s10209-019-00685-8","article-title":"Extending UTAUT2 toward acceptance of mobile learning in the context of higher education","volume":"18","author":"Arain","year":"2019","journal-title":"Universal Access Inf. 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