Discrepancies between Self-Reports and Behavior: Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Self-Reported Problematic Smartphone Use Severity, and Objectively Measured Smartphone Use

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is associated with self-reported problematic smartphone use (PSU) severity, but there is little investigation that includes objectively measured smartphone use. The aim of the current study was to provide insights into this domain. We combined the partially published data from two previous U.S.-based studies with college student samples that tracked smartphone use data with a different focus from the current study. Both data sets included socio-demographic measures, FoMO and PSU scale scores, and data for objectively measured screentime and frequency of screen unlocks over a week, amounting up to more than a thousand observations. FoMO had a strong correlation with self-reported PSU severity; however, FoMO was not associated with objectively measured smartphone use variables. FoMO did not predict behavioral smarthpone use over a week in multilevel modeling for repeated measures. Even though FoMO is a strong predictor of self-reported PSU severity, it does not predict objectively measured smartphone use.