Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

EDITORIAL article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Public Mental Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1671991

This article is part of the Research TopicMindfulness and Resilience in the Digital Age: Addressing Cyberattacks and Enhancing Mental Health and Performance among AdultsView all 9 articles

Editorial: Mindfulness and Resilience in the Digital Age: Addressing Cyberattacks and Enhancing Mental Health and Performance among Adults

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan, China
  • 2Malik Firoz Khan Noon Business School, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan
  • 3Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

In today's digital era, the integration of social media and digital platforms has become an essential component of adult life (Khan et al., 2021). While the rapid adoption of digital tools has revolutionized communication, education, entertainment, and personal development (Hui et al., n.d.), it has also increased individuals' exposure to cyberattacks, cyberbullying, and various psychological threats (Alismaiel, 2023).. This special issue explores how psychological well-being is influenced by digital threats and considers the protective role of mindfulness and resilience.Modern adults-especially university students and working professionals-face heightened psychological stress due to their dependence on digital media (Halliburton et al., 2021). . Despite the numerous benefits of digital connectivity, these platforms have become channels for harmful practices such as cyberbullying, identity theft, and digital harassment. Such experiences contribute to increased psychological distress, diminished academic or professional performance, and reduced overall life satisfaction. This issue compiles multidisciplinary empirical research to better understand and counteract the harmful effects of digital engagement through psychological strengths like mindfulness and resilience. The collection of articles presented in this special issue elucidates the complex and bidirectional relationships among psychological resilience, mental well-being, and digital interactions. The research identifies resilience and mindfulness as potentially efficacious protective factors against psychological distress emanating from digital environments. There is a pressing imperative for future empirical investigations and scholarly discourse focused on the development and empirical validation of targeted interventional strategies to address these multifaceted and evolving challenges. This comprehensive body of literature demonstrates the dual nature of technological engagement on adult psychological well-being, underscoring the critical importance of fostering adaptive capabilities to effectively manage digital vulnerabilities, including cybersecurity threats.Future research endeavors should employ diverse methodological approaches, incorporating both qualitative investigations and experimental paradigms, to enhance our understanding of digital mental health across developmental stages. Given the expanding trajectory of global digital interconnectedness, equipping individuals with robust psychological mechanisms to navigate digital adversity has transcended mere preference to become an essential imperative for contemporary society. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Keywords: Mental Health, mindfulness, cyberattacks, performance, resilience, Social Media, Students, Employees

Received: 23 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Khan, Khan and Ahmad. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Naseer Abbas Khan, Malik Firoz Khan Noon Business School, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.