FoMO and psychological distress mediate the relationship between life satisfaction, problematic smartphone use, and problematic social media use

Soraci, P, Demetrovics, Z, Bevan, N, Pisanti, R, Servidio, R, Di Bernardo, C, Chini, E and Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, 2025. FoMO and psychological distress mediate the relationship between life satisfaction, problematic smartphone use, and problematic social media use. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. ISSN 1557-1874

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Abstract

Low life satisfaction has often been associated with problematic social media use (PSMU), problematic smartphone use (PSU), FoMO and psychological distress. However, no studies have analyzed the relationship between life satisfaction, PSMU, PSU, FoMO, and psychological distress, in an integrated model. The present study hypothesized that life satisfaction may influence PSMU and PSU through the role of FoMO and psychological distress. A cross-sectional survey completed by 537 Italians (82.9% females [n = 445] and 17.1% males [n = 92], mean age = 35.35 years [SD ± 12.14]), included the Satisfaction With Life Scale, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, and Fear of Missing Out Scale. The results indicated direct negative associations between life satisfaction and both PSMU and PSU. Additionally, the findings indicated that both FoMO and psychological distress acted as full mediators in this complex relationship, suggesting that problematic technology use may be driven by emotional vulnerabilities such as fear of social exclusion and heightened levels of psychological distress. The present study contributes to understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between life satisfaction, fear of missing out, psychological distress, and problematic technology use, offering insights for potential interventions aimed at reducing the negative impact of technology on well-being.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
Creators:	Soraci, P., Demetrovics, Z., Bevan, N., Pisanti, R., Servidio, R., Di Bernardo, C., Chini, E. and Griffiths, M.D.
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date:	9 January 2025
ISSN:	1557-1874
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s11469-024-01432-8 DOI 2338054 Other
Rights:	© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Melissa Cornwell
Date Added:	10 Jan 2025 11:37
Last Modified:	10 Jan 2025 11:37
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52835

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