Fear of Missing Out

The development of social media addiction has become a phenomenon creating a potential
public health crisis. While research has found correlations between the development of social
media addiction and rising levels of fear of missing out, there is limited research surrounding the
influence of smartphone ease of access. This study examined the moderating effects of
smartphone ease of access to social media platforms and assessed appropriate treatment
interventions. This study used an experimental within-subject design with 641 participants, ages
19-32 years. Part I of this study measured the participants' levels of smartphone addiction, fear
of missing out, and social media addiction at the initiation of the study. In Part II, 189
participants were asked to deactivate social media applications on their smartphones for two
weeks and limit desktop usage to two days per week, no more than one hour each day. Variables
were measured again at the conclusion of the two weeks. The results reflected that the
relationship between fear of missing out and social media addiction was significantly moderated
by smartphone addiction and revealed a significant difference in the mean scores for both
instruments measuring fear of missing out, FOMO, and social media addiction, BSMAS. The
results revealed a slight increase in the mean scores for FOMO and BSMAS, which may indicate
the need for a longer period of abstinence for smartphone social media use to reduce the levels of
FOMO and BSMAS.