The effect of smartphones on anxiety: An attachment issue or fear of missing out?

Abstract

The overuse of smartphones has been linked to anxiety in university students, with two proposed explanations—attachment and fear of missing out (FoMO). The present study examined the contributions of phone separation (i.e., attachment) and phone ringing (i.e., FoMO), on anxiety levels. One hundred and twenty-eight university students were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions—attachment (separated or not separated from their phone) and FoMO (received or did not receive a phone call they were unable to answer). To induce anxiety, participants wrote a paragraph about a personal flaw and were told they would be interviewed about this paragraph; however, the interview did not occur. Participants’ state anxiety levels were measured at the end of the experiment. Results revealed a significant interaction between attachment and FoMO on anxiety levels. Specifically, among those who did not have access to their phones, those who heard an incoming call had significantly higher mean anxiety levels than did those who did not receive a call. Ultimately, results suggest that both FoMO and attachment play a role in creating anxiety among smartphone users. These results provide an important contribution to the literature on smartphone use with this study being the first to simultaneously manipulate both attachment and FoMO in smartphone users.