Can immersion protect us from distraction?Čopič Pucihar, Klen (Avtor) Trajkovska, Karolina (Avtor) Weerasinghe Arachchillage, Anuradhi Maheshya W. (Avtor) Waqas, Ali (Avtor) Parry, Douglas A. (Avtor) Le Roux, Daniel B. (Avtor) Kljun, Matjaž (Avtor) distractionsauditory distractibilityaugmented realityimmersion and presencelearningWhile many digital distractions can be managed, real-world interruptions, such as phone calls, notifications, and office noise, are harder to control and can harm productivity, well-being, and learning. Mixed reality systems like Augmented Reality (AR) are often described as immersive—a property which might protect users from such disruptions. We tested this assumption by comparing a head-mounted AR interface that overlays digital annotations on physical objects with a traditional flat screen during vocabulary learning under common office distractions. In a user study (n = 32), AR users reported feeling less distracted and recalled less task-irrelevant information, but their learning performance did not improve. Instead, distraction-related performance decline was greater in AR. Physiological and self-report measures showed no reduction in effort or workload, and participants with higher auditory distractibility did not benefit. Overall, AR annotation alone may not sufficiently shield learners from real-world distractions, motivating new design approaches.20262026-05-15 11:32:36Članek v reviji23047UDK: 004.5ISSN pri članku: 1044-7318DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2026.2633224COBISS.SI-ID: 270589955sl