Current Psychology

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00526-0

Materialism and adolescent problematic smartphone use:

The mediating role of fear of missing out and the moderating role
of narcissism
Jie Long 1 & Pengcheng Wang 1 & Shuoyu Liu 2 & Li Lei 1

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
Previous studies have shown that materialism, a series of values focused on wealth, possessions, image, and status, is an
important risk factor in the dependence of smartphone. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms
behind this relationship. Based on the theory of self-determination, this study examined whether fear of missing out (FoMO)
would mediate the relationship between materialism and adolescent problematic smartphone use, and investigated the moderat-
ing role of narcissism in this mediating process. Our theoretical model was tested among 677 middle school students in China
(mean age = 16.79, standard deviation = 0.72). The participants provided self-reported data on demographic variables, material-
ism, FoMO, narcissism, and problematic smartphone use. The results indicated that materialism was positively related to
adolescent problematic smartphone use. Mediation analysis showed that FoMO mediated this relation. Moderated mediation
test further revealed that the mediated path was moderated by narcissism. This study highlights the mediating and moderating
mechanisms linking materialism to adolescent problematic smartphone use, which has important implications for the prevention
and intervention of problematic smartphone use among adolescents.

Keywords Adolescent . Materialism . Problematic smartphone use . Fear of missing out . Narcissism

Introduction
Nowadays, smartphones play a very important role in people’s
lives because of the variety of their functions and their porta-
bility, and there are more than 700 million smartphone users in
China who spend an average of 27.6 h a week online. Instant
messaging, web music and short video apps account for most
of the online time of mobile netizens. (CNNIC 2018).
Adolescents are known to become addicted to smartphones
more likely than adults, which can be harmful to their health
Jie Long and Pengcheng Wang are co-first authors who contribute equally
to this work.
* Pengcheng Wang
tianhai001@126.com
* Li Lei
dr.leili@qq.com
1 (Cocoradă et al. 2018; Roberts et al. 2015; Wang et al. 2017a,
Department of Psychology, The Center of Internet + Social
Psychology, Renmin University of China, No. 59 Zhongguancun
Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100872, China
2
School of Economics and Management, Ningxia University, No. 489
Helanshan West Road, Xixia District, Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
and well-being (Jia et al. 2018; Kuss et al. 2014). Problematic
smartphone use is defined as Binability to regulate one’s use of
the smartphone, which eventually involves negative conse-
quences in daily life (Long et al. 2016)^ . The negative influ-
ences of problematic smartphone use on teenagers have re-
ceived widespread attention, for example, prior researches
show problematic smartphone use is positively associated
with sleep disturbance, depression symptoms, chronic stress,
academic performance (Augner and Hacker 2012; Dewi et al.
2018; Elhai et al. 2017; Samaha and Hawi 2016), and even
increased suicidal ideation (Katsumata et al. 2008).
Considering the negative impacts of problematic
smartphone use, it is important to explore the causes of prob-
lematic smartphone use. Previous studies have found that per-
sonality traits and offline interpersonal relationships are pre-
dictors for problematic smartphone use. For example, neurot-
icism, openness, conscientiousness and student-student rela-
tionship predict the risk for smartphone addiction negatively
b). In addition, maladaptive personality traits and dysfunction-
al parent-child relationships, which are also predictive of
problematic smartphone use among adolescents (Trumello
et al. 2018). However, few studies have explored the

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relationship between personal values (e.g., materialism) and
adolescent problematic smartphone use. So there remains a
need to inspect more meticulously the dynamics of potential
mechanisms that can explain problematic smartphone use.
Materialism refers to a set of beliefs that emphasize the
importance of possessions to one’s personal life (Richins
and Dawson 1992). Recently, researchers have found that ma-
terialism is related to smartphone addiction (Roberts and Pirog
III 2012). Recent theoretical developments suggest that mate-
rialism is symptomatic of an underlying feeling of psycholog-
ical insecurity, some people use materialism in order to at-
tempt to deal with their feelings of insecurity (Kasser 2016).
Such negative life situations can motivate people to use the
Internet for reducing negative emotions. The model of com-
pensatory internet use explained why some people keep
spending so much time online: people use the Internet to es-
cape real-life issues or alleviate dysphoric moods (Kardefelt-
Winther 2014). According to prior research, adolescents with
elevated psychological insecurity are more likely to develop
problematic smartphone use (Jia et al. 2017). People with high
levels of materialism tend to use the property or expensive
items to display their social image and highlight their status,
and as a common item that can be shown to others, a
smartphone is often considered to be a representative that
can show off wealth to others. At the same time, people with
high levels of materialism tend to use valuable assets such as a
smartphone to communicate, so the higher levels of material-
ism may lead to a high degree of reliance on a smartphone
(Lee et al. 2018). In addition, materialists can use the network
(such as through social network sites) to show off their own
wealth and status. That is to say, the smartphone can serve as a
good platform to satisfy their needs in this regard.
From another point of view, it’s not difficult to find that
materialism is an important risk factor for problematic
smartphone use among teenagers. On one hand, materialism
leads to lower life satisfaction and low self-esteem (Dittmar
et al. 2014), and smartphone as a kind of material wealth that
can show off, may bring a certain degree of material satisfac-
tion to young people, thereby improving their life satisfaction
and self-esteem (Katz and Sugiyama 2005). On the other
hand, some empirical studies have found that materialism is
positively related to smartphone addiction (Lee et al. 2017;
Lee et al. 2018; Roberts et al. 2015). In line with this notion,
a cross-sectional study indicates that materialism is positively
associated with problematic smartphone use (Wang et al.
2018a, b, c).
Nevertheless, there is little research on the relationship be-
tween materialism and adolescent problematic smartphone
use, and the role of mediating and moderating variables that
may be involved in this relationship are still largely unex-
plored. Exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms
is essential to improve our understanding of problematic
smartphone use and to develop effective intervention and
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Curr Psychol
prevention strategies. The purpose of this study is to validate
a conceptual model in which, first, materialism will aggravate
the teen’s fear of missing out (FoMO), which in turn will
increase the likelihood of adolescent problematic smartphone
use; second, the associations between materialism and prob-
lematic smartphone use through FoMO will be moderated by
narcissism.
The mediating role of fear of missing out (FoMO)
FoMO is a psychological trait that is pervasive in the individ-
uals, and people with high level of FoMO are worried that
others are acquiring awarding experiences in their absence
(Beyens et al. 2016; Elhai et al. 2016; Przybylski et al.
2013). Some theorists believe that FoMO can increase the
use of social media by teenagers to learn about the status of
others (Przybylski et al. 2013; Vaidya et al. 2016). People with
high FoMO are more likely to use social media sites and are
more likely to use their phones while driving or in class
(Przybylski et al. 2013). Further findings indicate that
FoMO is a predictor of problematic smartphone use, with
higher levels of FoMO associated with more problematic
smartphone use (Elhai et al. 2016; Wolniewicz et al. 2018).
According to the self - determination theory (SDT), peo-
ple’s well-being depends on the satisfaction of their basic psy-
chological needs (Deci and Ryan 1985; Ryan and Deci 2000).
People who pursue material as a priority have less satisfaction
with their demands for autonomy, ability, and intimacy. Since
they have excessive attention to external factors like money,
material wealth, and image, but ignore the need to chase those
that might lead to more well-being. Thus, these low levels of
basic need satisfaction lead to low happiness for people with
high levels of materialism (Dittmar et al. 2014). Through the
SDT, the FoMO phenomenon can be understood as self-
regulatory limbo arising from situational or chronic deficits
in psychological need satisfaction, and that is to say, people’s
low levels of basic need satisfaction tend to lead to higher
FoMO.
For one thing, compared with the less materialistic, people
with high materialism often trapped in the vicious circle of
loneliness (Pieters 2013), have an anxious attachment style
(Norris et al. 2012), and find it more difficult to balance family
and work commitments (Promislo et al. 2010). For another,
materialism is also associated with lower quality interpersonal
relationships (Solberg et al. 2004). Studies conducted over
time have shown that the increase in psychopathology and
the decline in the well-being of American adolescents and
Norwegian participants (Twenge et al. 2010; Hellevik 2003)
are associated with higher level of materialism. A meta-
analysis shows that materialism has a significant negative cor-
relation with personal well-being (Dittmar et al. 2014). What’s
more, personal well-being often affects people’s FoMO, and
some studies examined the links between FoMO and
Curr Psychol
psychological well-being and found that FoMO is associated
with negative experiences (Turkle 2017). Therefore, it is rea-
sonably assumed that there is an association between materi-
alism and FoMO. So far, no research has directly studied the
mediating role of FoMO in the relationship between material-
ism and adolescent problematic smartphone use.
The moderating role of narcissism
Although materialism is considered to be a risk factor for
adolescent problematic smartphone use through the interme-
diary role of FoMO, it may not always be the case due to
individual differences (Lycett and Dunbar 2000; Roberts and
Pirog III 2012). Narcissism, for example, may serve as a mod-
erator in the relationships between materialism, problematic
smartphone use, and FoMO.
Narcissism is defined as a personality trait reflecting a gran-
diose and inflated self-concept (Buffardi and Campbell 2008),
and narcissism is related to positive and inflated self-views of
agentic traits like intelligence, superiority and power, and be
admired by others (Buffardi and Campbell 2008; Pincus et al.
2009; YANG et al. 2017). A cross-temporal meta-analysis
found that narcissism levels have risen over the generations
(Twenge et al. 2008). Narcissists often have a strong desire for
expression, seeking to achieve psychological satisfaction
through enhanced self-presentation and the establishment of
a large number of interpersonal relationships (Campbell and
Campbell 2009; Stoeber et al. 2015).
According to the self-presentation theory, people often
consciously express themselves according to certain patterns
in order to make an impression they expect on others and to
achieve a predetermined purpose (Goffman 2002). The nar-
cissists tend to update their status (such as post attractive
selfies on social networking sites or promote their own con-
tent) for self-presentation purposes more frequently than do
non-narcissists (Bergman et al. 2011). That is to say, People
with a high level of narcissism are keen to be perceived as
more excellent, which is manifested by showing off the
material wealth of the smartphone itself and presenting a
superior status on the Internet (particularly on SNSs)
(Andreassen et al. 2017). Thus, we believe that narcissism
will moderate the effects of high materialism on adolescent
smartphone addiction so that high narcissists will be more
actively influenced by materialism than low narcissists. In
addition, narcissism may exacerbate the relationship between
FoMO and problematic smartphone use. A central feature of
narcissism is self-enhancement, and narcissists maintain pos-
itive self-esteem by demeaning others. Therefore, narcissists
often like to compete with competitive tasks (Morf et al.
2000; Tanchotsrinon et al. 2007). Narcissism will make peo-
ple with high FoMO more nervous, and thus more willing to
invest in the network.
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The present study
To further disentangle the nature of this relationship between
materialism and adolescent problematic smartphone use. The
present study tested a conceptual model of the processes
which taking Chinese adolescents as the research object. In
this model, materialism is positively related to adolescent
problematic smartphone use. Based on previous research
and analysis, the following associations were hypothesized.
We hypothesized that (a) High materialism will be positively
related to FoMO, which in turn will be positively associated
with problematic smartphone use. In other words, FoMO
would play a mediating role in the relationship between ma-
terialism and adolescent problematic smartphone use, and (b)
narcissism would moderate the direct and indirect relations
between materialism and problematic smartphone use via
FoMO. Specifically, the direct and indirect relations between
materialism and problematic smartphone use would be much
stronger for adolescents with higher Narcissism.
Figure 1 illustrates the proposed model.
Method
Participants
This study conducted among a sample of adolescents from
two middle schools in Hebei Province, China. We acquired
informed consent from adolescents and schools. The final
sample consisted of 677 participants (58.9% boys, age range
15–19 years, Mage = 16.79, SDage = .72, 88% from urban
areas). For the parental education levels, 74% of the fathers
and 77% of the mothers had less than a high school education.
These students completed a survey designed to collect data
regarding demographic variables (gender, age, from urban or
rural areas, the educational qualifications and professions of
fathers and mothers), materialism, FoMO, Narcissism, and
problematic smartphone use.
Measures
Materialism
The Chinese version of the Material Values Scale (MVS) was
administered to assess the level of materialism in participants
(Richins and Dawson 1990; Richins and Dawson 1992; Wang
et al. 2018a, b, c; Wang et al. 2019a, b, c, d) and consisted of
18 items: 6 items for possession-defined success (i.e., BI don’t
place much emphasis on the number of material objects peo-
ple own as a sign of success^), and 7 items for acquisition
centrality (i.e., BI try to keep my life simple, as far as posses-
sions are concerned^), and 5 items for pursuit of happiness
through acquisition (i.e., BIt sometimes bothers me quite a bit

Fig. 1 illustrates the proposed
model
Materialism
that I can’t afford to buy all the things I’d like^). Items were
scored using a 5-point scale that ranges from B1 = strongly
disagree^ to B5 = strongly agree^, with higher total scores
indicating a higher level of materialism. Cronbach’s alpha in
the present sample was 0.71.
Problematic smartphone use
We measured problematic smartphone use with The Chinese
version of Smartphone Addiction Scale short-version (SAS-
SV; Kwon et al. 2013; Wang and Lei 2019; Wang et al. 2017a,
b; Wang et al. 2018a, b, c; Wang et al. 2019a, b, c, d). This
scale is to evaluate the degree of excessive use of one’s
smartphone with interference in work, school or socially.
The scale consists of 10 items, and a sample item is BHaving
a hard time concentrating in class while doing assignments, or
while working due to smartphone use^. Items were scored
using a 6-point scale that ranges from B1 = strongly disagree^
to B6 = strongly agree^. Cronbach’s alpha in the present sam-
ple was 0.86.
Fear of missing out
FoMO was measured using the Chinese version of Fear of
Missing Out scale (FoMOs; Przybylski et al. 2013; Wang
et al. 2019a, b, c, d; Wang et al. 2018a, b, c; Yin et al.
2019), which contains 10 items (e.g., BI get worried when I
find out my friends are having fun without me^). Items were
scored using a 5-point scale that ranges from B1 = not at all
true of me^ to B5=extremely true of me^, with higher total
scores indicating higher levels of FoMO. In the present study,
Cronbach’s alpha for the FoMOs was 0.73.
Narcissism
Narcissism was measured using the Single-Item Narcissism
Scale (Konrath et al. 2014), which contains only one item –
BTo what extent do you agree with this statement: I am a
narcissist (Note: The word ‘narcissist’ means egotistical,
self-focused, and vain)^. It was scored using a 5-point scale
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Curr Psychol
FoMO
Problematic smartphone use
Narcissism
that ranges from B1 = not very true of me^ to B7 = very true of
me^. The Single-Item Narcissism Scale is related to both gran-
diose and vulnerable aspects of narcissism, and previous stud-
ies have examined its validity when assessing narcissism as an
overall construct (Konrath et al. 2014; Greenwood et al.
2013).
Results
Statistical analyses
Firstly, descriptive statistics and correlations among variables
were inspected. After that, we tested the mediating role of
FoMO using Hayes (2017) PROCESS macro for SPSS
(Model 4). And then, we conducted multiple regressions using
Hayes’ (Hayes 2017) SPSS Marco (Model 59) to analyze the
moderated mediation effect, which allows all possible direct
and indirect effects between materialism and problematic
smartphone use to be moderated by the moderator. We exam-
ined whether the factor narcissism moderated all pathways in
the mediation model. We randomly sampled 1000 times from
the original data when doing the regressions, the 95% confi-
dence intervals (CIs) without zero meant statistically signifi-
cant. All continuous variables were standardized and interac-
tion terms were computed from these standardized scores.
Additionally, before regression analyses, all variables were
mean-centred prior to analyses.
Preliminary analyses
Means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations for all
study variables are shown in Table 1. As the results showed,
smartphone addiction was positively associated with materi-
alism (r = .34, p < .001), FoMO (r = 0.38, p < .001) and nar-
cissism (r = .21, p < .001), respectively. Materialism was pos-
itively correlated with FoMO (r = .22, p < 0.001), narcissism
(r = 0.23, p < .001), as well. And FoMO was positively asso-
ciated with narcissism (r = .21, p < .001).
Curr Psychol

Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations of the main study (Model 59) of PROCESS macro (Hayes 2017). As revealed
variables
in Table 3, only the interaction effect of FoMO and narcissism
Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 on problematic smartphone use was significant (β = .07,
p < .05). According to the previous research, the average ef-
1.Smartphone addiction 3.41 .91 1 fect size in tests of moderation published in leading journals
2.Materialism 2.81 .41 .344*** 1 was only 0.094 (Aguinis et al. 2005), so the current effect is
3.FoMO 2.83 .63 .383*** .215*** 1 medium in size. As demonstrated in Fig. 3, to illustrate the
4.Narcissism 3.32 1.60 .212*** .232*** .209*** 1 interaction of FoMO×narcissism for problematic smartphone
use, we plotted the regression of FoMO on narcissism at high
SD standard deviation
and low levels of problematic smartphone use. The simple
N = 677
slope tests showed that the association between FoMO and
***p < .001
problematic smartphone use was stronger for high narcissism
(bsimple = .38, p < .001) than for low narcissism (bsimple = .23,
Testing for mediation
p < .001). Finally, the indirect effect of materialism on adoles-
cent problematic smartphone use through FoMO was also
In Hypothesis 1, we predicted that FoMO mediated the rela-
conditioned by narcissism.
tionship between materialism and smartphone addiction. So
As is illustrated in Table 4, although the conditional indi-
we used the Model 4 of the PROCESS macro (Hayes 2017) to
rect effect was always significant, it was strongest at high
test this hypothesis. As is shown in Table 2, it showed that
levels of narcissism (conditional indirect effect = .07), weaker
materialism negatively predicted FoMO, β = .76, p < .001 (see
at medium levels of narcissism (conditional indirect effect =
Model 1 of Table 2), which in turn affected smartphone ad-
.05), and weakest at low levels of narcissism (conditional
diction, β = .33, p < .001 (see Model 2 of Table 2). At the same
indirect effect = .04). Therefore, Hypothesis 2 was partially
time, it is noted that the residual direct effect was also signif-
supported.
icant, β = .47, p < .001 (see Model 3 of Table 2), which indi-
cates that FoMO partial mediated the link between material-
ism and adolescent smartphone addiction (indirect effect =
Discussion
.15, SE = .032, 95% CI = [.095, .228]. This model accounted
for 20% of the variance in smartphone addiction among ado-
The impact of materialism on problematic smartphone use has
lescents. And the mediation of FoMO was directly shown in
garnered considerable empirical support (Lee et al. 2018;
Fig. 2. Thus, Hypothesis 1 was supported.
Roberts and Pirog III 2012; Takao et al. 2009). However,
few studies have utilized a process-oriented approach to ex-
Testing for moderated mediation amine the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying
the relationship between materialism and problematic
In Hypothesis 2, the present study assumed that narcissism smartphone use. Given that the accumulation of multiple risk
would moderate the indirect relation between materialism factors can have more adverse impacts on individual develop-
and problematic smartphone use. In order to test the moderat- ment than a single risk factor (Evans et al. 2013), a more
ing effect, we performed a moderated mediation analysis comprehensive understanding of the driving forces of adoles-
cent problematic smartphone use is necessary. The present
Table 2 Testing the mediation effect of materialism on problematic
smartphone use study formulated a moderated mediation model to examine
whether materialism would be indirectly related to adolescent
Predictors Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 problematic smartphone use through FoMO, and whether this
indirect association was moderated by narcissism. The key
Problematic FoMO Problematic
smartphone use smartphone use contribution of this study is to advance our understanding of
how and when materialism is associated with adolescent prob-
b t b t b t lematic smartphone use. Moreover, the pathways of our mod-
erated mediation model provide a broad perspective on the
Materialism .34 9.51*** .21 5.73*** .27 7.86***
prevention and intervention of problematic smartphone use
FoMO .32 9.29***
among adolescents.
R2 .12 .05 .21
F 90.48*** 32.87*** 94.11***
The mediating role of FoMO
N = 677. Each column is a regression model that predicts the criterion at
the top of the column As hypothesized, this study confirmed the moderating role of
***p < .001 FoMO in the association between materialism and adolescent

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 Curr Psychol

Fig. 2 The mediation of FoMO.

FoMO
The link between materialism and
problematic smartphone use is .32(.03)***
mediated by FoMO. Path values .22(.03)***
are the path coefficients (standard
errors). Direct effect = .27,
SE = .03, 95% CI [.21, .34].
Indirect effect = .07, SE = .01, Materialism Problematic smartphone use
95% CI [.04, .10]. ***p < .001.
.27(.03)***

problematic smartphone use. Therefore, FoMO is an impor-
tant mechanism linking materialism and adolescent problem-
atic smartphone use. As far as we know, this study is the first
to report such results in the literature. These findings illumi-
nated how modern social and cultural values are influencing
new media use like smartphones. We note that the indirect
effect explained by FoMO is not particularly large in this
study. One possible reason is that the impact of FoMO might
have a long-lasting effect, which was not fully reflected in this
cross-sectional study. In fact, in a recent review, Davies et al.
(2016) found that the proportion of significant mediational
pathways identified in longitudinal studies were actually
higher than the results from cross-sectional studies.
Additionally, the relatively small size of the effect suggests
that other important mediators, such as adolescents’ peer rela-
tionships, should be examined in future studies.
Firstly, according to the self-determination theory, the sat-
isfaction of basic psychological needs is significant to the
healthy development of individuals. In order to meet their
needs, people with a high level of materialism, who emphasize
the importance of possessions to their personal life, need to
make proactive behavioural regulation (Ryan and Deci 2000).
Table 3 Coefficients for the moderated mediation model
coeff. SE LLCI
The FoMO is seen as Bself-regulatory limbo arising from sit-
uational or chronic deficits in psychological need satisfaction^
(Przybylski et al. 2013). That is to say, FoMO played a medi-
ating role linking materialism to problematic smartphone use.
Therefore, the substantial contribution is the examination of a
moderated mediation model which embraces the self-
determination theory (Ryan and Deci 2000). This integrated
model is an important extension of traditional self-
determination theory. Secondly, the compensatory Internet
use theory (Kardefelt-Winther 2014) also provides an expla-
nation for the results of the current study. The compensatory
Internet use theory assumes that the unmet psychological
needs can give rise to a motivation to go online to alleviate
negative feelings. Specifically, the second link in the media-
tion chain shown that adolescents with higher FoMO are more
likely to get addicted to the smartphone, as they may try to
compensate for their lack of security or dull their sense of
insecurity through the Internet.
The moderating role of narcissism
As another important aspect of the process-oriented research,
hypothesis 2 assumed that narcissism would moderate the
ULCI 1

FoMO 0.8 Low narcissism

Materialism .18 ***
.04 .10 .25 0.6 High narcissism
Narcissism .17*** .04 .09 .24 0.4
Problematic smartphone use

Materialism × Narcissism .01 .04 −.06 .09

0.2
R2 = .27
F (3,673) =17.77*** 0
Low FoMO High FoMO
Problematic smartphone use -0.2
***
Materialism .26 .04 .19 .33
-0.4
FoMO .30*** .04 .23 .37
Narcissism .05* .04 .02 .15 -0.6
Materialism × Narcissism −.00 .03 −.06 .06 -0.8
FoMO× Narcissism .07* .03 .01 .15 -1
R2 = .48
Fig. 3 Problematic smartphone use among adolescents as a function of
F (5,671) =40.35*** FoMO and narcissism. Functions are graphed for two levels of positive
coping: 1 standard deviation above the mean and 1 standard deviation
N = 677. SE = standard error, LLCI = lower limit of the 95% confidence below the mean. Note that the graph is for descriptive purpose only. All
interval, ULCI = upper limit of the 95% confidence interval inferential analyses maintained the continuous values of FoMO and
*p < .05. ***p < .001 narcissism

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Curr Psychol
Table 4 Conditional indirect effect of materialism on problematic
smartphone use via FoMO at different levels of narcissism
Level of narcissism Indirect effect Boot SE LLCI ULCI
Low (1 SD below mean) .04 .02 .01 .08
Medium (mean) .05 .05 .03 .08
High (1 SD above mean) .07 .02 .03 .12
N = 677. SE = standard error, LLCI = lower limit of the 95% confidence
interval, ULCI = upper limit of the 95% confidence interval
direct and/or indirect relationship between materialism and
problematic smartphone use. The results showed that narcis-
sism only moderated the path between FoMO and adolescent
problematic smartphone use (second-stage moderation).
Specifically, we found that the effects of FoMO on problem-
atic smartphone use were stronger for adolescents with high
rather than low narcissism. But the previous study has found
that narcissism turned out not to be directly related to fear of
missing out (Błachnio and Przepiórka 2018).
Contrary to our expectation, narcissism did not moderate the
relationship between materialism and problematic smartphone
use. This result could be explained by the robust influence of
mechanism on problematic smartphone use. Besides, we did
not find evidence for the moderating role of narcissism in the
relationship between materialism and adolescent problematic
smartphone use, that is, the direct and/or indirect associations
between materialism and problematic smartphone use did not
vary as a function of narcissism. Nonetheless, it’s premature to
discount the importance of narcissism, as more research is
needed before we can draw any definitive conclusions about
its role in altering the association between materialism and ad-
olescent problematic smartphone use.
Limitations and practical implications
Several limitations must be considered when interpreting the
results of the present study. First, the cross-sectional design of
this study precluded examination of causality or directionality.
Although the current study suggests that materialism may lead
to adolescent problematic smartphone use, it is also possible
that adolescent problematic smartphone use increases materi-
alism (Wang et al. 2018a, b, c). Future research can apply
experimental or longitudinal designs to better delineate direc-
tionality of these relationships. Second, this study relied pri-
marily on adolescents’ self-reports to collect data, future stud-
ies should collect data from multiple informants (e.g., adoles-
cent, parent, teacher, or peer). Finally, the model in this study
was examined among middle school students rather than clin-
ical samples that met criteria for problematic smartphone use.
Therefore, these results should not be generalized to other
groups. Future studies can test this model in other samples
such as the clinical samples.
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Despite these limitations, our findings have important practi-
cal implications. First, given that the current study indicates that
materialism is a risk factor for adolescent problematic
smartphone use, so the parents and teachers should help adoles-
cents establish correct values and reduce their obsession with
wealth. In addition, social media campaigns should be less about
instilling materialistic values in the adolescent. Second, we dem-
onstrated the mediating role of FoMO in the relationship be-
tween materialism and problematic smartphone use. This finding
may help practitioners understand pathways by which materialist
is related to adolescent problematic smartphone use. Therefore,
strengthening the friendship between adolescent and their peers
may help reduce adolescent problematic smartphone use. Third,
our study found that narcissism could moderate the link between
materialism and problematic smartphone use, which suggests
that parents and teachers should help adolescent establish correct
self-perception. Especially, the therapists, whose youth clients
suffering from materialism and/or problematic smartphone use,
need be informed about mechanisms that influence individuals
to problematic smartphone use such as FoMO and narcissism.
Conclusions
In sum, this study contributes to the literature by examining a
moderated mediation model, which provides a unique per-
spective to understanding how and when materialism relates
to adolescent problematic smartphone use. It provides evi-
dence that the link between materialism and adolescent prob-
lematic smartphone use was partially mediated by FoMO. In
addition, the findings revealed that narcissism mitigated the
adverse impact of FoMO on adolescent problematic
smartphone use. These findings advance the current under-
standing of the mechanisms linking materialism and adoles-
cent problematic smartphone use.
Acknowledgements This research was supported by fund for building
world-class universities (disciplines) of Renmin University of China.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author
states that there is no conflict of interest.
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