Author(s)

Guangming Gao ¹, Mingzhu Chen ¹, Zhen Zhong ²

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Marxism, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, Guangdong, China
² Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China

Corresponding Author

Zhen Zhong

ABSTRACT

This article reconstructs mental internal friction as an integrative concept for understanding college students' distress in the AI era. Existing research on rumination, technostress, fear of missing out, burnout, and AI anxiety explains important aspects of student distress, but it remains fragmented and does not fully capture how digitally mediated pressures become inwardly self-consuming. This paper argues that mental internal friction refers to a process in which digitally intensified inner conflict and repetitive self-monitoring deplete psychological resources and gradually reduce behavioral energy. Drawing on self-discrepancy theory, rumination research, Conservation of Resources theory, and socio-digital perspectives, the article identifies four amplifying conditions: hyper-connectivity, algorithmic comparison, AI-related competence uncertainty, and information overload. It further considers the implications of this framework for future research and for higher education responses to student well-being in digital and AI-mediated environments.

KEYWORDS

Mental Internal Friction, Digital Stress, College Students, Generative AI, Academic Burnout

CITE THIS PAPER

Guangming Gao, Mingzhu Chen, Zhen Zhong. Mental Internal Friction among College Students in the AI Era: Digital Stress, Inner Conflict, and Low Behavioral Energy. Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology (2026). Vol. 10, No. 2, 79-91. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/aetp.2026.100212.

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