Loneliness and academic performance mediates the relationship between fear of missing out and smartphone addiction among Iranian university students

Background Fear of missing out (FoMO) can increase loneliness and smartphone addiction and decrease academic performance in university students. Most studies investigated the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction in developed countries, and no studies were found to examine this associat...

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Published in:	BMC psychiatry Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 1 - 550
Main Authors:	Alinejad, Vahid, Parizad, Naser, Yarmohammadi, Malakeh, Radfar, Moloud
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London BioMed Central Ltd 12-08-2022 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Academic achievement Academic failure Academic performance Addiction Addictions Addictive behaviors Anxiety College students Demographic aspects Fear FoMO Health aspects Hypotheses Loneliness Managerial skills Messaging applications Nursing education Psychiatry Psychological aspects Risk factors Sleep disorders Smart phones Smartphone addiction Smartphones Social network Social networks Time management University students Iran
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Summary:	Background Fear of missing out (FoMO) can increase loneliness and smartphone addiction and decrease academic performance in university students. Most studies investigated the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction in developed countries, and no studies were found to examine this association in Iran. The mediating role of loneliness and academic performance in the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction and the mediating role of loneliness and academic performance in this relationship in Iranian university students. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 447 students from Urmia University of Medical Sciences were investigated. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires, Przybylski's FoMO scale, Pham and Taylor's academic performance questionnaire, Russell's loneliness scale, and Kwon's smartphone addiction scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 23 and SmartPLS ver. 2. Results FoMO had a positive and direct association with smartphone addiction ([beta] = 0.315, t-value = 5.152, p < 0.01). FoMO also had a positive and direct association with students' loneliness ([beta] = 0.432, t-value = 9.059, p < 0.01) and a negative and direct association with students' academic performance ([beta] = -0.2602, t-value = 4.201, p < 0.01). FoMO indirectly associated with smartphone addiction through students' loneliness ([beta] = 0.311, t-value = 5.075, p < 0.01), but academic performance was not mediator of smartphone addiction ([beta] = 0.110, t-value = 1.807, p > 0.05). FoMO also indirectly correlated with academic performance through students' loneliness ([beta] =--0.368, t-value = 6.377, p < 0.01). Conclusions FoMO can be positively associated with students' smartphone addiction, and loneliness is an important mediator of this association. Since smartphone addiction could harm students' academic performance, thus, healthcare administrators should reduce students' loneliness and improve their academic performance by adopting practical strategies to help students to manage their time and control their smartphone use. Holding self-management skills classes, keeping students on schedule, turning off smartphone notifications, encouraging students to engage in sports, and participating in group and family activities will help manage FoMO and loneliness. Keywords: FoMO, Social network, Messaging applications, Smartphone addiction, Loneliness, Academic performance, Students
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1471-244X 1471-244X
DOI:	10.1186/s12888-022-04186-6