Is smartphone usage predicting fear of missing out and loneliness in a sample from the generation z?

Abstract

Despite being an extremely connected society, new phenomena are stemming from this new tech-era, such as Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and loneliness. In this project, data was collected from around 150 Generation Z engineering students to analyze possible individual predictors of FOMO and loneliness, and their link with objective measurements of smartphone and social media usage. The results show that more than half of subjects underestimated their usage time, and there was no direct correlation between overall smartphone use and FOMO. When analyzing individual differences in personality traits, FOMO was linked to Agreeableness, Neuroticism and Extraversion. Loneliness was found to be related with how subjects usually feel after using social media, with more than 40% of them having negative of mixed feelings after visiting social media platforms. This study gives insights of behavioral decisions of younger adults and how individual differences might impact the outcomes of social media use.