Digital Stress, Moral Disengagement, and Emotional Vulnerability: The Role of Tri-Sikkhā in Restoring Inner Balance

Somsack  Phetsamai; Santoshkumar S. K.

Authors

Somsack Phetsamai Faculty of Foreign Languages, Souphanouvong University, Lao PDR.
Santoshkumar S. K. Department of Political Science (GFGC), Mundgod, India.

Keywords:

Digital Stress, Moral Disengagement, Emotional Vulnerability, Tri-Sikkhā, Inner Balance, Digital Well-Being

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital technology has fundamentally transformed communication, education, work, and social participation. While digital platforms provide substantial benefits, persistent connectivity may also expose individuals to information overload, social comparison, approval-seeking behaviors, and emotionally provocative content. These conditions can generate digital stress, increase emotional vulnerability, and foster moral disengagement, thereby facilitating the justification or normalization of harmful online behaviors. Despite growing concerns regarding digital well-being, there remains a need for integrative frameworks that address the ethical, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of digital engagement. This conceptual article proposes the Buddhist Threefold Training (Tri-Sikkhā) comprising Sīla (ethical conduct), Samādhi (mental concentration), and Paññā (wisdom) as a holistic framework for mitigating the adverse psychological and behavioral consequences of digital environments. The analysis suggests that Sīla strengthens moral responsibility and ethical decision-making, Samādhi enhances attentional stability and emotional regulation, and Paññā promotes critical reflection and reduces attachment to external validation. Collectively, these dimensions offer a mechanism for disrupting the cycle linking digital stress, emotional vulnerability, moral disengagement, and harmful online conduct.

The study contributes to the body of knowledge by extending Buddhist psychological principles into the field of digital well-being and by providing an interdisciplinary conceptual model that integrates ethical, emotional, and cognitive development. Rather than advocating the rejection of technology, the proposed framework supports mindful, responsible, and wisdom-based digital engagement. The article highlights that sustainable digital well-being depends not only on technological solutions but also on the cultivation of moral agency, emotional resilience, reflective communication, and critical wisdom.

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