Fear of Missing Out and Problematic Smartphone Use Severity: The Mediating Role of Perceived Social Isolation Among Adolescents

The present study explored how Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is connected to Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) among adolescents, and whether Perceived Social Isolation (PSI) helps explain this link. 100 adolescents (aged 15-19) were tested using standardized self report measures namely- The Fear of Missing Out Scale (Przybylski et al., 2013), the Smartphone Addiction Scale- Short Version (Kwon et al. 2013) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale- Short version from (Russell, 1996). In simple terms, teenagers who often feel they are missing out on social experiences also tend to feel more socially isolated. This sense of isolation then appears to play role in increasing their problematic Smartphone use. Result analysis suggested significant positive correlation between FoMO, PSI and PSU; adolescents who scored high on FoMO experience more social isolation which in turn contributes to higher levels of Problematic Smartphone use. Results also suggest the importance of addressing social-emotional needs of adolescents to alleviate technology related problems.