The Fear of Missing Out (FoMO): Dimensions of Personality & … · 2019-08-19 · The Fear of...

The Fear of Missing Out (FoMO):

Dimensions of Personality &

Psychopathology in Smartphone Overuse

ERROL O. RODRIGUEZ, PHD. CRC, MAC

ADELPHI UNIVERSITY

NAADAC Annual Conference 2018

Houston, Tx

Meredith Musgnug, LMHC

Joanna Micek, LMHC

WellLife Network

Kellen Van Nostrand, BA

Adelphi University

Agenda

Evolution of the internet and social networking

Early challenges with advancing social media

technology

Smartphone Use & Problematic Use

What is the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)

Our previous study (FoMO & personality)

New study (FoMO, psychopathology risk, and

psychological well-being)

Future directions

AOL, Netscape, & the Dial-Up

Internet

Internet

Social Connection

Communication

Stimulation Seeking

Services

The Original Devices

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Social Networking in the Millennium

AOL Facebook

Technological Advance

& New Challenges

By 1998 reports indicated problematic internet use similar to substances with some similar negative outcomes (Young, 1998)

Merit for Inclusion in DSM-V but… (Block, 2008)

Internet Addiction (IA, or,better, Internet Use Disorder) global prevalence rate hit 6%

Technological Advances & New Challenges

INTERNET GAMING

DISORDER

…And now the Smartphone

How many times do Americans

check their cell phones daily?

8 billion

How often does the average user

check their cell phone per day?

46x

How long before you checked your

phone in this workshop?

Source: Time Magazine (Dec. 2015)

Source: photos.oliur.com

Smartphone Use Demographics

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Ph

on

e C

he

cks

pe

r D

ay

Age Group

Smartphone Use by Age

Source: Time, Dec. 2015

Smartphone Use Patterns

How long is the interval between waking up and looking at your phone?

•40% say within 5 minutes

•18% say immediately

Source: USA edition, Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey

Smartphone Use Patterns

How long is the interval between looking at your phone for the last time and preparing to sleep?

•30% say 5 minutes before bed

•50% check in the middle of the night

Source: USA Edition, Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey

Smartphone Use Patterns

What is the first thing accessed on a smartphone daily?

•35% Text Messages or IM

•22% Email

•12% Social Media

Source: USA edition, Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, June 2016

Smartphones, Social Media, &

Emerging Concerns

TwitterInstagramFacebook

Smartphones, Social Media,

& Emerging Concerns

Easy access to social media has

led to overuse for some users

Most studies on Facebook users

Some users experience difficulty controlling their time on

Facebook (Lee, Cheoung, & Thadani, 2012)

Facebook Studies

Facebook

Lower Self-

Esteem Lower Subjective Well-being

Psychological Well-being

Social & Academic

Anxiety

Depression

Source: Denti, et al. 2012. Koc & Gulyagci, 2013. Kross et al. 2013. Beard & Wolf, 2001.

Personality Factors & Facebook

Most studies since 2008 generally indicate strong

relationships exist between one’s personality and

overuse or problematic use of social media.

As the need for narcissistic validation increased

so did the amount of time spent on Facebook.

Lower self-esteem was moderately associated

with higher check-ins on Facebook.

Source: Mehdizadeh, 2010

Fear of

Missing Out

(FoMO)

A “pervasive

apprehension that

others might be having

rewarding experiences

from which one is

absent.” (Przybylski et al., 2013)

An intense desire to stay

continually connected

with what others are

doing.

Fear of

Missing Out

(FoMO)

Huffington Post

Time

Anxiety & Depression

Association of

America

The New York Times

FoMO Characteristics

Preoccupation with social media often to the exclusion of other social interactions

Mood & Anxiety

Psychosocial issues

Loss of control

Increasing need to use social media

Withdrawal Effects

FoMO Studies

Worthman (2011)

JWT Intelligence (2012)

Przybylski (2013)

Haeto (2013)

Alt (2017)

Rodriguez (2017)

Personality & FoMO 2017

People who reported a higher than average degree of FoMO also experienced a moderate level of Neurotic symptomatology

r = .336, n= 114, p < 0.01

Personality & FoMO 2017

People who tended to be less Agreeable reported a higher than average degree of FoMO

r = -.258, n= 114, p < 0.01

Quality of Life & FoMO 2017

Quality of life demonstrated a weak, negative, significant relationship with FoMO but with no practical importance.

r = -.192, n= 114, p < 0.05

Current Study Questions

Since we found a relationship between neurosis and FoMO, is there an expanded relationship between certain psychopathology & levels of FoMO?

Since there was a weak relationship between quality of life and FoMO, is there a specific relationship between psychological well-being and FoMO?

Is there a relationship between narcissism and FoMO

How well do psychopathology, psychological well-being, and narcissism predict FoMO?

Method

92 undergraduate students; 77 valid

participants

Demographic Form

Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin &Hall, 1979)

Fear of Missing Out Scale (Przybylski et al., 2013)

Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale (Ryff, 1989, 1995)

Personality Assessment Screener (PAS) (Morey,???)

Results

78% Female

95% 18-21 years old

57% White

65% Freshman

Results: Psychopathology & FoMO

People who reported a higher than average degree of FoMO also demonstrated moderate level of risk for emotional & behavioral problems

r = 0.472, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychopathology & FoMO

People who reported a higher than average degree of FoMO also experienced a high level of Negative Affect

r = 0.577, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychopathology & FoMO

People who reported a higher than average degree of FoMO also experienced a moderate level of Social Withdrawal

r = 0.302, n= 77, p < 0.01

Results: Psychopathology & FoMO

People who reported a higher than average degree of FoMO also experienced a moderate level of Anger Control

r = 0.351, n= 77, p < 0.01

Results: Psychological Well-being & FoMO

People who reported higher than average levels of FoMO also experienced less overall psychological well-being

r = -0.519, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychological Well-being & FoMO

People who reported higher than average levels of FoMO also experienced less sense of autonomy particularly in decision making

r = -0.468, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychological Well-being & FoMO

People who reported higher than average levels of FoMO experienced less of a sense of personal growth in their life or a “true self”

r = -0.562, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychological Well-being & FoMO

People who reported higher than average levels of FoMO experienced less satisfaction from relationships

r = -0.427, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychological Well-being & FoMO

People who reported higher than average levels of FoMO experienced less positive feelings about themselves and less self-acceptance

r = -0.432, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychological Well-being & FoMO

People who reported higher than average levels of FoMO expressed feeling less competent in managing their environment particularly when creating environments suitable for their needs

r = -0.399, n= 77, p < 0.001

Results: Psychological Well-being & FoMO

People who reported higher than average levels of FoMO expressed feeling less self-directed and having few goals in life.

r = -0.266, n= 77, p < 0.05

Results: Narcissism & FoMO

There was a non-significant correlation of .145 (p = n.s) between narcissism and FoMO

Results: Psychopathology, Psychological

Well-being, & FoMO

Marked risk for clinical problems and low levels of optimism and subjective well-being were significant predictors of FoMO

R2 =.301, F(2,76)= 16.33, p<.001

“When I feel unhappy about my life,

I grab my phone and see what others

are doing. At least I feel like I am

doing something.”

Results: Psychopathology, Psychological

Well-being, & FoMO

Feeling stagnant, bored, or uninterested in one’s life and negative affect were stronger, significant predictors of FoMO

R2 =.406, F(2,77)= 26.28, p<.001

“ I look at my phone

when I am bored or

just need to pass time.

It is like I just have to

do it. I don’t even

think about it. That’s

crazy, right?”

-- 16 year old

Source: www.slate.com

Secondary Correlations

Personal growth was moderately,

negatively associated with

negative affect

r=. -551, n=77, p<.001

Secondary Correlations

Negative affect was largely, negatively correlated with overall well-being with self-acceptance the largest effect respectively

r= .-642, n=77, p<.001

r= .-629, n=77, p<.001

Secondary Correlations

Personal growth was moderately & negatively associated with FoMO

r= .-562, n=77, p<.001

Personal Relationships was moderately & negatively associated with FoMO

r= -.427, n=77, p<.001

Secondary Correlations

Conscientiousness was moderately & positively associated with agreeableness

r=.406, n=114, p<.01

Agreeableness had a small, negative association with neuroticism

r= -.292, n=114, p<.01

Secondary Correlations

Self-acceptance was moderately,

negatively associated with FoMO

r=. -432, n=77, p<.001

Secondary Correlations

Social Media

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6

Facebook -

Twitter -.041 -

Tumbler .094 .092 -

Instagram .382** .337** .132 -

Snapchat .273** .192 -.021 .434*** -

Pinterest .299** .234* .190 .170 .122 -

FoMO .051 .424*** .043 .272* .142 .217*

TABLE 1

Pearson Product-Moment Correlations Between Social Media & FoMO

Note. * p< .05, ** p< .01, *** p< .01

Discussion – The Take Away

Technological advances has made it possible for us to stay connected regardless of location and time

BUT…

It also appears to attract people with heightened worries

about staying connected and “being

in the know.”

In our first study Neuroticism played a

key role in understanding FoMO

Discussion – The Take Away

For young adults, decreases in overall psychological

well-being and increases in emotional symptoms are

strongly related to FoMO

More specifically, when interest in personal growth

and self-acceptance decreases in the context of

increasing negative affect, young adults are more

likely to display more FoMO symptomatology

Negative affect demonstrated a moderately strong

relationship with all PAS and Ryff variables

Discussion – The Take Away

Since FoMO represents a preoccupation or obsession with knowing what others are doing in “real time, young adults use smartphones compulsively in a manner that resembles other

behavioral addictions

Clinical work might focus on the underlying variables of declining

personal growth & self-acceptance with negative affect as a core problem

Limitations

Not a full representative

sampleFoMO scale

Future Directions

FoMO Phase Three

•Negative Affect (PAS)

•Envy

•Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being (RSPW)

•Mindful Awareness

ACT-Mindful Meditation Intervention targeting

•negative affect

•Personal growth

•?

Thank you!

Questions?

References

Beard, K. W., & Wolf, E. M. (2001). Modification in the proposed

diagnostic criteria for internet addiction. Cyberpsychology and

Behavior, 4, 377–383.

Block, J. (2008). Issues for DSM V: Internet addiction. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 3, 306-307.

Deloitte. (2016). Global mobile consumer survey: US edition. Retrieved

from Deloitte: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-

media-and-telecommunications/articles/global-mobile-con.

Denti, L., Barbopoulos, I., Nilsson, I., Holmberg, L., Thulin, M., Wendeblad,

M., et al. (2012). Sweden’s largest Facebook study. Gothenburg:

Gothenburg Research Institute.

Eadicicco, L. (2015, Dec. 15). Americans check their phones 8 billion times a day. Time. Retrieved from

http://time.com/4147614/smartphone-usage-us-2015/.

References

Koc, M. and Gulyagci, S. (2013). Facebook addiction among Turkish college students: the role of psychological health, demographic, and usage characteristics. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking,16, 279-284.

Kross, E., Verduyn, P., Demiralp, E., Park, J., Lee, D. S., Lin, N., et al. (2013). Facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults. PLoS ONE, 8(8), e69841.

Lee, Z. W., Cheung, C. M., & Thadani, D. R. (2012, January). An investigation into the problematic use of Facebook. In System Science (HICSS), 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 1768-1776). IEEE.

Mehdizadeh, S. (2010). Self-presentation 2.0: Narcissism and self-esteem on Facebook. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 13,4, 357-364.

Przybylski, A.K, Murayama, K., DeHaan, C.R.& Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29 (4), 1841–1848.

References

Rodriguez, E., Musgnug, M., & Micek, J. (2018). Personality correlates of

he fear of missing out. Unpublished manuscript.

Young, K.S. (1998). Internet Addiction: The emergence of a new clinical

disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1,3, 237-244.