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Review
. 2021 Dec 17;10(4):879-900.
doi: 10.1556/2006.2021.00083. Print 2021 Dec 31.

Fear of missing out (FoMO) and internet use: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

Mehdi Akbari  1 , Mohammad Seydavi  1 , Sara Palmieri  2   3   4 , Giovanni Mansueto  2   3   4   5 , Gabriele Caselli  2   3   4 , Marcantonio M Spada  2
Affiliations
Review

Fear of missing out (FoMO) and internet use: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

Mehdi Akbari et al. J Behav Addict. .

Abstract

Background and aims: FoMO has been considered a predisposing factor toward excessive internet use, and a great deal of literature has investigated the link between FoMO and internet use. However, there is still a lack of cohesion in the literature.

Methods: The current study have been conducted and reported in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).

Results: In the current systematic review and meta-analysis of 86 effect-sizes, representative of 55,134 participants (Mean age = 22.07, SD = 6.15, females = 58.37%), we found that the strength of the trait FoMO- internet use association significantly varies from r = 0.11 to r = 0.63. In some populations, FoMO appears to increase with age and it is reverse in other populations. Facebook use was unrelated to FoMO in some populations, and higher FoMO was linked with stopping Instagram use for some individuals. The FoMO- internet use association was independent of their severity, as the interaction was not significant, and this association was neither linear nor curvilinear. The FoMO-internet use association does not appear to be associated with depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms or level of life satisfaction. The COVID-19 pandemic was the only significant moderator of the FoMO-internet use association, strengthening this relationship.

Discussion and conclusions: FoMO demonstrates a considerable role in internet use; however, there is no evidence of interaction or bi-directional association between the mentioned. Overall, we still don't know what factors contribute to individuals exhibiting distinct patterns in the FoMO-internet use association.

Keywords: fear of missing out (FoMO); internet use; smartphone use; social media use.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Flow diagram of the search
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Funnel Plot for the publication bias. The eighteen black nodes (potential studies) trimmed to the right of the mean, suggesting that the pooled ES of FoMO and internet use association is underestimated
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Effect-size as a function of FoMO and internet use severity. There were no significant differences at any level of severity
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. (An asterisk indicates that the study was included in the meta-analysis)
    1. * Adelhardt, Z. , Markus, S. , & Eberle, T. (2018). Teenagers’ reaction on the long-lasting separation from smartphones, anxiety and fear of missing out. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Social Media and Society, 212–216. 10.1145/3217804.3217914. - DOI
    1. * Alt, D. (2015). College students’ academic motivation, media engagement and fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior , 49, 111–119. 10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.057. - DOI
    1. * Alt, D. , & Boniel-Nissim, M. (2018a). Links between adolescents’ deep and surface learning approaches, problematic Internet use, and fear of missing out (FOMO). Internet Interventions , 13, 30–39. 10.1016/j.invent.2018.05.002. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alt, D. , & Boniel-Nissim, M. (2018b). Parent–Adolescent communication and problematic internet use: The mediating role of Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). Journal of Family Issues , 39(13), 3391–3409.

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