{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,26]],"date-time":"2026-10-26T18:25:24Z","timestamp":1793039124586,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769472000000},"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. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In an era of ubiquitous digital communication, online social anxiety has become an increasingly salient issue in the context of digital wellbeing. While procrastination is a known risk factor for psychological distress, the cognitive pathways linking it to online anxiety\u2014and the protective factors that might mitigate these associations\u2014remain poorly understood. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines a theorized \u201cdepletion\u2013overload\u2013anxiety\u201d pathway by testing whether cognitive overload mediates the association between procrastination and online social anxiety, and whether mindfulness buffers this process. A cross-sectional survey of 580 adults measured procrastination in online social contexts, cognitive overload, online social anxiety, and trait mindfulness. The results showed a significant positive association between procrastination and online social anxiety, which was partially mediated by cognitive overload. Mindfulness functioned as a protective resource, moderating both the link between procrastination and cognitive overload and the direct association with anxiety; specifically, higher mindfulness attenuated the adverse associations of procrastination with both overload and anxiety. These findings suggest that procrastination may be related to elevated online social anxiety partly through increased cognitive overload, whereas mindfulness may buffer this association by supporting more adaptive attentional regulation. By framing procrastination-related strain in digital communication as a digital wellbeing issue, the study speaks to public digital health efforts aimed at reducing technology-related stress and improving psychological functioning in everyday online interaction. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted as patterns of association consistent with the proposed model rather than causal effects. Accordingly, digital wellbeing initiatives may consider incorporating mindfulness-based strategies to help reduce the psychological strain associated with procrastination in digital communication settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1710399","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T13:10:17Z","timestamp":1769519417000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Procrastination and online social anxiety: the mediating role of cognitive overload and the moderating influence of mindfulness"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Shaolei","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Software Engineering Institute of Guangzhou","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhuoling","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"City University of Macau","place":["Taipa, Macao SAR, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongjing","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fudan University","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zichuan","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"City University of Macau","place":["Taipa, Macao SAR, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"84","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15010084","article-title":"Fear of Missing out and Online Social Anxiety in University Students: Mediation by Irrational Procrastination and Media Multitasking","volume":"15","author":"Wu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Behavioral Sciences"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27753","DOI":"10.1007\/s12144-024-06386-7","article-title":"Does social anxiety look the same in the online and offline world?","volume":"43","author":"Biglbauer","year":"2024","journal-title":"Curr Psychol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-77077-8_10","article-title":"ISDT case study of we\u2019ll app for postpartum depression women","volume-title":"Cross-cultural design. 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