Depression, anxiety and fear of missing out as correlates of social, non-social and problematic smartphone use
Abstract
Few studies have examined mental health variables in relation to social vs. non-social smartphone use, and how such types of use relate to problematic smartphone use (PSU). We conducted a web survey of 316 American undergraduate students about severity of depression, anxiety, fear of missing out (FOMO), social and non-social smartphone use, and PSU. Using structural equation modeling, we found that compared to social smartphone use, non-social use was more strongly linked with severity of PSU (β = 0.18, p < .05) and FOMO (β = 0.24, p < .05). FOMO mediated relations between depression severity and non-social smartphone use (β = 0.09, p = .04). Furthermore, FOMO mediated relations between both depression (β = 0.23, p < .001) and anxiety (β = 0.16, p = .04) with PSU severity. We discuss non-social smartphone use as a possible avoidance strategy among anxious individuals, and the role of FOMO in individuals desiring social connectedness but also feeling socially anxious. Results are discussed in the context of a comprehensive theoretical model on pathways toward excessive internet use.
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FoMO has a negative impact on mental health.
“Overall, existing research consistently shows that FoMO has a negative impact on mental health.”
From The effect of fear of missing out on mental health: differences in different solitude behaviors (2023) · cites this paper as [6]
FoMO was positively correlated with depression and anxiety and significantly predicted stress.
“For example, FoMO was positively correlated with depression and anxiety [6, 10] and significantly predicted stress [11].”
From The effect of fear of missing out on mental health: differences in different solitude behaviors (2023) · cites this paper as [6]
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References 55 · Cited by 269
- Authors
- Elhai, J. D., Gallinari, E. F., Rozgonjuk, D., & Yang, H.
- Affiliations
- Tianjin Normal University (CN)
- University of Toledo (US)
- Universität Ulm (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Elhai, Jon D.
- Venue
- Addictive Behaviors
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-06
- Volume
- 105
- Pages
- 106335
- ISSN
- 0306-4603 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3005085507
- Cited by
- 269
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 46 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 37.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Addictive Behaviors (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Tianjin Philosophy and Social Science Project
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Keywords
- smartphone addiction, fear of missing out, depression, anxiety, mediation, avoidance, excessive internet use, social connectedness, undergraduate students
- MeSH terms
- Smartphone, Latent Class Analysis, Adolescent, Anxiety, Depression, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Models, Theoretical, Students, United States, Behavior, Addictive, Young Adult, Social Networking
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