Researches and Community Services

WhatsApp (WA) has long been a part of social media. This is due to its increasingly complex functions in accommodating the various interests of its users, whether for communication, establishing and building social relationships and work networks, self-expression, delegating work and so on. However, one of the basic functions of WA as a social media, especially for communication media, remains irreplaceable. Well, one of the features that are widely used by WA users is the WA group or WhatsApp Group (WAG). These WAGs are formed for many purposes, whether momentary, or permanent. Some that are commonly created where we are all involved in them are family WAGs, or work WAGs or office WAGs.

Office WAG is one of the most popular WAGs in the community, especially for employees or workers. Office WAGs are often created to accommodate information, work discussions, and delegation of work in the workplace. Whether we like it or not, whether we want to or not, whether it is convenient or not, many employees have multiple office WAGs at once, tailored to their various contexts of interest. Yet, in many cases, office WAGs often lack lively conversations, as they are unidirectional, from superiors to subordinates without any discussion. Many office WAG members are silent and passive without contributing anything. Have you ever been one of them?

This common and interesting phenomenon was studied by Rahardjo et al. (2023). The basic question of this research is what factors cause a person to be passive and silent in the office WAG. This behavior is commonly referred to as lurking and the culprit is the lurker (Rahardjo, 2023). The findings show that lurking is correlated with many factors such as personality type neuroticism, laziness to share information, fear of losing face, and feigned ignorance. This means that the more “paranoid” an employee is, the more silent they are on the office WAG. The more reluctant to share information with fellow employees, the more fearful of losing face if they say the wrong thing, and the more comfortable pretending to be ignorant and unaware of the topics being discussed on the office WAG, the more silent someone will be on the office WAG.

Meanwhile, this research found that at the influence level, only neuroticism and fear of losing face have an influence on silent and passive behavior in office WAGs. This finding illustrates that when someone feels uncomfortable in an office WAG, they will tend to be passive and silent in the WAG. On the other hand, in office WAGs there are often discussions and discussions about various work-related matters. For certain employees, it is better to be silent and pay attention because they are afraid that when they speak or give opinions, their opinions will be wrong or inaccurate.

Rahardjo et al. (2023) then provided some open-ended questions to categorize as part of the deepening of these findings. Some of the results that are also interesting to put forward are that most of the reasons expressed by passive and silent employees in the office WAG are (1) the presence of bosses or superiors, or other people with higher structural positions, (2) many WAG members who are even less known, (3) lack of confidence to participate in discussions, (4) many topics that are not mastered, (5) having conflicts with one or more WAG members, (6) many insignificant topics that are not related to work that are actually discussed, and others.

Another interesting finding is related to topics that may not be desirable to discuss, but in fact are often discussed or mentioned in the office WAG. Participants in this research mentioned that the topics that are not preferred to be discussed in the office WAG are (1) political matters, (2) topics related to religion, and (3) personal matters. This finding suggests that it is important for a WAG to actually discuss things that are the basis and reason why a WAG was formed in the first place. When these things are discussed, employees will feel discomfort and withdrawn in an office WAG.

The research also provides interesting and simple suggestions. These suggestions are (1) don’t create an office WAG with too many members, and (2) don’t involve people with high structural positions in a general, non-specific office WAG. So, if you are in an office WAG where only some of the members are active, and most of them are silent and passive, maybe the problem is like the findings of this research. Dare to give feedback to your boss or group admin about this research finding?

Reference:

Rahardjo, W., Mulyani, I., Santoso, M., Arianty, M., & Yogandito, R. A. (2023). Lurking in office WhatsApp group: Examining the role of neuroticism, knowledge contribution loafing, fear of losing face, and playing dumb. Russian Psychological Journal, 20(3), 220-236.

Feel free to read through:

https://rpj.ru.com/rpj/article/view/1493

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Are you a motorcycle user? If so, finding out the results of the following research will be very interesting. However, for those who don’t ride a motorcycle, you may still find it fascinating to check out this research summary.

Motorcycles are one of the foremost popular ways of transportation in Indonesia. In rural areas, apart from bicycles, people heavily rely on motorcycles to mobilize for various purposes and interests. This is also due to the limited access of public transportation within these rural parts to reach each other. Yet, the availability of public transportation has not decreased the appeal of using motorcycles. The most noticeable case is in urban areas. Widely used arguments are the overcapacity of public transportation, and time efficiency. When it comes to time efficiency, it is reasonable to understand why motorcycles are favored modes of transportation. Motorcycles are considered more capable to seamlessly squeeze in between cars that are stalled due to traffic jams. This is one of the most popular reasons for those who are commuting to work in big cities.

Road congestion is a source of pressure for most road users, and motorcyclists are no exception. Hot weather, dusty roads, and the “competition” mood on the road to your destination are all factors that trigger conflict on the highway. One of the other consequences of these factors is a lack of clear thinking when driving on the road, which can lead to risky driving behavior. At this point, it is intriguing to consider whether it is possible to improve driving awareness, especially for motorcyclists, in order to minimize numerous risks on the roads as a result of motorists’ lack of vigilance.

Dewi et al. (2022) conducted compelling research on mindful motorcycling in motorcyclists. This research attempts to measure whether a psychological intervention in the form of mindful motorcycling might improve riding awareness for motorcyclists. Well, what is mindful motorcycling anyway? Previous research has suggested that riding a motorcycle is an automatic behavior that involves almost no conscious thought. As a result, many careless behaviors are impulsive and risky. Mindful motorcycling is about how a motorcyclist can really immerse themselves in their riding behavior, and still ride with full awareness so that they can continuously think clearly about various potential scenarios on the road.

Mindful motorcycling was used as a psychological intervention by Dewi et al. (2022). That is, Dewi et al. (2022) conducted training to improve mindful motorcycling conditions in 26 motorcyclists from various backgrounds after previously being equipped with knowledge about mindful motorcycling to improve safe riding behavior. Mindful motorcycling itself was measured both before and after the training using the MAAS (Mindful Attention Motorcycling Scale) which has been modified for research purposes.

Then, what are the changes perceived by the motorcyclists who participated in this research? Firstly, there is the matter of being present in the moment. Motorcyclists become less rushed when riding, more alert to the motorcycle speed while in use, still have anxiety about being late but are able to accept the possibility of delay. Second, from judgmental to non-judgemental. Motorcyclists can positively interpret any obstacle to their smooth riding on the road. For example, from “Well, I hit a red light”, to “Red light? Okay, I’ll just wait”. The third is the beginner’s mind. Riders are more sensitive in feeling the journey, seeing sights that have been ignored, overlooking many things as new experiences which are interesting and reducing fatigue. Fourth is from mindlessness to mindfulness. Riders become conscious that riding while listening to music, or without standard safety equipment is dangerous. Then the last one is sensations. Riders become more sensitive to the sounds of animals or nature that have been neglected, more able to sense the vibrations and sensations of the bike, and smell all the things they encounter on the road. Some of the testimonials reported by the motorcyclists in the study were that they grew calmer on the road, and resigned when encountering difficult situations on the road.

Certainly what the motorcyclists who participated in this study had experienced is a good outcome, and an ideal that should be enjoyed by all motorcyclists. However, psychological interventions in the form of mindful motorcycling appear to be helpful in allowing motorcyclists to achieve this state more effectively. It is certainly beneficial for motorcyclists to be more alert on the road as they are able to ride with a clear mind. Now, have you ridden your motorcycle to college or work with a clear mind? Or perhaps you need mindful motorcyling training too? Either way, it’s clearer now that mindful motorcycling is necessary to improve your riding to minimize risks. Wanna give it a try?

Reading source:

Dewi, M. P., Sulthoni, M. I., Puspitaningrum, B. C., Kusumastuti, A. N., Marissa, A., & Prabowo, H. (2022). Test of mindfulness motorcycling as a psychological intervention to increase awareness of riding. Proceeding of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1000, 012018. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/1000/1/012018

Available in:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1000/1/012018/meta

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After surviving through the tough times of COVID-19 pandemic, we currently entering the next period, which is post-pandemic. In the perspective of psychology, times like the pandemic provide a broad opportunity to learn and become more enlightened with the many complexities of human life in various aspects of life. Various researches in the field of psychology have emerged and uncovered many interesting phenomena related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One related issue of the pandemic is happiness. Pandemic impacted can be seen in many individuals and professions. Although physical and psychological adjustments have been made, it is still possible for mental health and personal happiness to be affected. In the field of education, students also experience this. Their efforts to study in higher education must be modified in such a way since it must be done without face-to-face and involves the use of technology. During a pandemic, technology becomes one of the main solutions so that learning process can still be carried out properly.

So, any changes in study habits, delivery of information and lecture materials, delegation of tasks, and submission of assignments are new routines that students, who may have been under enough academic pressure in college, have to deal with. This academic pressure does affect students’ happiness. The more stressed they are due to academic demands as well as behavioral changes in distance learning during the pandemic, the more unhappy they are.

Now, one fascinating thing to acknowledge is the role of technology. It has been stated earlier that changes in learning processes within higher education are accommodated by the use of technology. In more fancier language, technology is everywhere. Of course, this actually is a potential source of new issues in students” mental health. At least for some students, not all are ready to change their mindset and framing that technology does not necessarily be a source of fun, but can also lead to academic pressure. The question is, is this really the case? Is it true that excessive use of technology in the field of education within higher education is a cause of decreasing in student happiness?

At least, according to research by Andriani et al. (2021), the answer is no. Technology-overload usage as a learning aid does not significantly affect students’ happiness. Academic pressure, yes. Technology? No. This is clearly an interesting finding. It implies that students are much more adaptive in using technology technically for various purposes, including learning. Technology is not perceived as a threat to them. Thus, overuse does not have an effect as far as damaging their happiness as students. Students themselves are a tech-savvy group. Many coping strategies (stress coping) are carried out with the help of technology. It seems that, when stressed due to excessive use of technology for studying, students optimally use it to also reduce the pressure felt for hedonic activities or other experiences that are a source of social support.

Andriani et al. (2021) also revealed that technology-overload usage is perceived as a problem exclusively among students with older ages, as well as those with families. Of course, this is a different problem considering that many studies have already explained that people with younger age groups are indeed more tech-friendly than those from older age groups. The same goes for families where those who have to take care of their families would have more time if they have to engage further with technology for college purposes. Meanwhile, no group had a particularly low happiness score in this study. They’re just fine. That is, they’re quite fine. They’re happy well enough.

Students are indeed one of the groups that are prone to the impact of pandemic, primarily related to their happiness when using remote learning. Nevertheless, it turns out that their happiness is more influenced by the perceived academic pressure, not by technology-overload usage. Students, in fact, are much more adaptive to technology and the use of it, even in challenging times like the pandemic. What about your experience?

Reading Source:

Andriani, I., Qomariyah, N., Salve, H. R., & Indryawati, R. (2021). Is college students’ happiness during online learning affected by academic stress and technology-overload perception? Advances in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities Research, 655, 1633-1637. doi: 10.2991/assehr.k.220404.264

Available for reading in:

https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/ticash-21/125973166

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