Proceedings of the 2020 HFES 64th International Annual Meeting 791

IS SMARTPHONE USAGE PREDICTING FEAR OF MISSING OUT

AND LONELINESS IN A SAMPLE FROM THE GENERATION Z?
Cristiane K. Brazil & Malgorzata J. Rys
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Kansas State University

Despite being an extremely connected society, new phenomena are stemming from this new tech-era, such
as Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and loneliness. In this project, data was collected from around 150
Generation Z engineering students to analyze possible individual predictors of FOMO and loneliness, and
their link with objective measurements of smartphone and social media usage. The results show that more
than half of subjects underestimated their usage time, and there was no direct correlation between overall
Copyright 2020 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved. 10.1177/1071181320641183

smartphone use and FOMO. When analyzing individual differences in personality traits, FOMO was linked
to Agreeableness, Neuroticism and Extraversion. Loneliness was found to be related with how subjects
usually feel after using social media, with more than 40% of them having negative of mixed feelings after
visiting social media platforms. This study gives insights of behavioral decisions of younger adults and how
individual differences might impact the outcomes of social media use.

INTRODUCTION
Technology and information revolutions have been
changing the way we live. Communication and information
access became easier with mobile phones and internet. Mobile
phones started to include other features besides phone calls,
such as internet access and other computer functions, becoming
what we now call a smartphone. Cellphones are an example of
a successful technology, especially in terms of adherence.
About 96% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind, and
81% own a smartphone (Pew Research, 2019).
Millennials, a generation born from 1981 to 1996, lived
through most technology booms and had to learn to adapt with
each of them. Younger generations on the other hand, already
grew up with a technological environment more similar to what
we experience today. They were exposed to smartphones at a
much younger age, being an essential part of their lives. This Z
Generation (born after 1997), is now reaching adulthood, and it
is already considered more educated, stress and depressed than
previous ones (The Economist, 2019).
Today we can perform a variety of activities through our
phone such as grocery shopping and bank transactions, besides
the traditional communication related functions. Socializing is
not exclusively physical anymore, with many different social
media applications to virtually connect and socialize with
people. This virtual life has become appealing to fulfill personal
needs when one cannot find support in the real life, but going
online will not necessarily help to feel better. Even though they
can talk to anyone in the world at any time, and might be
surrounded by people all day, there is still the so-called
“Loneliness Epidemic” (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018).
The increased smartphone usage has been studied due to its
possible negative impact on mental health and link to negative
and compulsive behaviors such as texting and driving
(Przybylski et al., 2013). Personality Theory can be used to
predict such behaviors and can help explain why and when
people engage in them. Personality traits such as Extraversion
and Neuroticism have been classified as predictors of social
media use and addiction (Blackwell et al., 2017). New
psychopathology-related constructs are also stemming from
this increased usage. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) has been
observed in younger generations, and this feeling also mediates
social media use (Blackwell et al., 2017).
To evaluate possible correlations between smartphone
usage and these constructs, objective measurements should be
used to assess time spent on the smartphone, avoiding self-
reported times. Objectively measured smartphone use is an
alternative to reduce estimations and dependence on perceived
behaviors (Loid et al., 2020). Tracking can be done passively
now, with embedded or downloadable smartphone applications.
The main purpose of this project is to explore the relationship
between these constructs and understand the underlying
mechanisms of loneliness and FOMO, testing if personality
traits, objectively measured technology usage, and usage
categories, such as using the smartphone for social media or
entertainment, affects this relationship. Understanding what
constitutes a healthy smartphone usage is relevant to provide
guidelines for current and future generations.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Personality Theory
Psychologists have more than one definition for what
personality is. Assumptions include it being related to what
people do and experience, that it is an entity – it really exists –
and that it is relatively fixed and enduring, with its core being
consistent throughout life (Peck & Whitlow, 2019).
The main goal of personality theory is to help describe,
understand, and predict human behavior. The five-factor model
(FFM) is a frugal and comprehensive framework of personality
that is used to associate individual subjects to specific behaviors
and outcomes. The five factors include (a) consciousness, that
represents and efficient, focused and organized self; (b)
extraversion, as being sociable and energetic, prone to
adventures; (c) agreeableness, a modest, compliable and
forgiving trait; (d) neuroticism, characterized by being anxious,
moody and vulnerable and (e) openness to new experience,
being curious, artistic and unconventional.
Proceedings of the 2020 HFES 64th International Annual Meeting
It was found that the big five personality dimensions are
related to technology acceptance. Individuals high in
Consciousness have a strong relationship between perceiving
that a technology is useful and then intending to use it.
Neuroticism was negatively associated with perceived
usefulness of technology (Devaraj et al., 2008).
Loneliness and Social Isolation
Social isolation is an objective measurement that has been
associated with increased risk of dementia and cognitive
Copyright 2020 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved. 10.1177/1071181320641183
decline (Wilson et al., 2007). Being single, having a small
network and not engaging in social activities with others does
not necessary happens only to physically isolated people. It can
affect individuals surrounded by others and that experience
constant human interaction – such as college students.
This type of emotional isolation is not fully understood yet,
but has been affecting millions of people: in industrialized
countries around a third of people are affected by this condition
(Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018). A study conducted in 2001
found that prevalence of suicide ideation and parasuicide
increased with the degree of loneliness, with minimal
differences between men and women (Stravynski & Boyer,
2011). The American Psychological Association emphasizes
the worrying trends in U.S. suicide rates, with an increase of
33% from 1999 to 2017, being ranked as the second leading
cause of death for people ages 10- to 34-years-olds (CDC,
2018).
The effect of internet use on loneliness vary according to
what are people’s motives of use and the person’s age. It was
found that for children and early adolescents, there was not a
significant association between social internet use and
loneliness. For young adults, it depends on the specific use of
social technologies, with either a positive or a negative
correlation. In older adults, usage was negatively correlated
with loneliness (Nowland et al., 2017).
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
The increasing amount of real-time social information
available online has caused a phenomenon called Fear of
Missing Out. Knowing what others are doing and not being part
of it is a source of anxiety and questioning of one’s decisions.
Since access to this information requires social media and
internet access, this phenomenon is linked to smartphone usage
(Blackwell et al., 2017; Wolniewicz et al., 2018; Loid et al.,
2020).
The mediation model proposed by Przybylski et al. (2013)
established that social media engagement varies according to
individual’s differences and is mediated by the FOMO
construct. FOMO was linked to higher levels of social media
engagement and lower life satisfaction. A study by Blackwell
et al., (2017) expanded on the individual differences and
included two personality constructs: Extraversion and
Neuroticism along with FOMO to predict social media use and
addiction. Higher levels of FOMO, Extraversion and
Neuroticism were linked to higher levels of social media usage,
and higher levels of FOMO to social media addiction.
792
METHODOLOGY
Sample Selection
Participants were recruited from engineering classes in
exchange for extra-credit. A presentation was created to
introduce the main concepts of the survey such as expected time
to fulfill forms and length of study The survey was approved by
the Institutional Review Board of Kansas State University with
minimum risk to the subjects. Subjects signed the consent form
agreeing to participate prior to receiving the survey link.
An initial survey collected the demographics and behavior
data, along with assessing the desired personality traits, FOMO,
Self-Esteem, and Loneliness. To evaluate possible correlations
between perceived and effective smartphone usage and
awareness (i.e. how accurate their usage estimations effectively
are) effect on individual’s behavior, individuals were instructed
to download or activate a screen time monitor app on their
smartphones.
Testing Scales
Personality Traits. The big-five personality traits were
measured using the Big Five Inventory Test proposed by John
& Srivastava (1999). The 44-items inventory consists of 44
statements to which the participant indicates the extent they
agree or disagree with it. Scores range from one to five, with
one referring to “Strongly Disagree” and five referring to
“Strongly Agree” with the statement. Scoring was according to
the handbook. Eight statements refer to Extraversion and
Neuroticism, nine statements for Agreeableness and
Conscientiousness, and ten statements refer to Openness,
adding up to the 44-items that comprise this scale.
FOMO. To measure FOMO levels on subjects, a 10-item
validated scale was used. Subjects indicated how true each of
the ten statements were of their general experiences, ranging
from “Not at all true of me” to “Extremely true of me”.
(Przybylski et al., 2013)
Self-Esteem. FOMO has been linked with low life-
satisfaction, and feelings of insecurity (Przybylski et al., 2013),
so self-esteem can be a mediator of smartphone usage. The
Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to measure global self-
worth of subjects. Items were answered using a 4-point Likert
scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Higher
scores indicate higher self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965).
Loneliness. The UCLA 20-item loneliness scale
subjectively measures one’s feelings of loneliness and social
isolation. Participants were instructed to rate each of the items
as “I often feel this way”, “I sometimes feel this way”, “I rarely
feel this way” or “I never feel this way”. The final score was
calculated according to scale instructions, with a possible range
of 0-60 (Russell et al., 1978).
Usage. Using the screen time tracker, subjects reported
average daily time spent on their phone and which were their
top three main categories of usage (e.g., entertainment, books,
social media, productivity) with respective time spent on each.
Which apps go within each category was pre-defined by the app
itself. This way, a direct comparison could be made between
total time spent and social media usage directly.
Proceedings of the 2020 HFES 64th International Annual Meeting 793

Statistical Analysis. Data was pre-processed using Excel to
standardize entries, fix typos and combine all surveys linking
subject’s responses. The statistical analysis was made using R
Studio Version 1.2.1335.
RESULTS
Descriptive Statistics
The main sample had 152 subjects with an average age of
21 years old (SD = 1.1, Youngest = 18, Oldest = 23). The
Copyright 2020 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved. 10.1177/1071181320641183
FOMO and Smartphone Usage
First assessment was made to assess if high usage of
smartphones is associated with FOMO. The hypothesis is that
simply spending time on your phone is not necessarily
correlated with this construct. Linear regression was used with
total time spent on smartphone as a predictor of FOMO. As
expected, higher utilization was not a significant predictor of
FOMO (p = 0.2).
To demonstrate that social media is affecting FOMO levels
the most, a second model using directly social media time to

sample was composed of 67% males and 33% females. The predict FOMO was tested. social media time was now
average age of acquisition of the first smartphone was at 14 significant (p = 0.00*) and positively correlated with FOMO
years old. levels.
Table 1 has the overall sample’s personality trait results.
The sample could be considered more towards the agreeable, Most Used category and FOMO and Loneliness
conscious and opened side. Results for Neuroticism and
Extraversion where both midway the scale. This information The most seen first-place category was social media (74%),
can help describe some of the characteristics of the Generation followed by Entertainment (17%). Only 9% subjects had other
Z engineering students. type of first-place category such as Books & References or
Productivity.
Table 1. Sample's Personality Traits To analyze possible group differences considering how
Trait Mean Std. Dev. Score Range they use their smartphones the most, subjects were divided into
Neuroticism 22.5 5.6 8 to 40 three categories: social media and entertainment – two most
Openness 35.5 5.5 10 to 50 seen categories – and Others – all other categories. There were
Extraversion 25.3 6.8 8 to 40 not enough observations to differentiate even more between
Agreeableness 34.8 5.4 9 to 45 groups, with the Others category already only having 11
Conscientiousness 33.7 5.0 9 to 45 observations.

Table 2 summarizes the other characteristics of the sample.

Using the possible ranges as a reference of low and high, one
can say that the sample was on average on the low side in
FOMO and Loneliness, but also low in Self-Esteem. High
standard deviations on all three measurements are indicative
that even analyzing a specific group, generation generalizations
don’t necessarily take place.

Table 2. Constructs' Results

Construct Mean Std. Dev. Score Range
FOMO 23.2 7.3 10-50
Loneliness 18.4 12.6 0-60 Figure 1. Subject's most-used category and FOMO scores
Self-Esteem 19.6 5.5 10-40

Subjects were asked to estimate on average how much time

do they think they spend on their smartphones. After reporting
actual times, the estimations can be compared with the effective
time spent by each subject. Not all subjects reported their times,
but out of the 126 subjects that did, 52% of them underestimated
their usage (N = 66), and 48% overestimated or estimated
appropriately.
The average total time spent on their smartphones was of
4.6 hours per day (SD = 2.7h). When analyzing the social media
category directly, the average total time spent per week was of
10.8 hours (SD = 6h). social media was within the top 3 main
categories of usage for over 95% of subjects. Figure 2. Subject's most-used category and Loneliness Scores

Boxplots of the data can be seen in Figures 1 and 2. Social

Media category for FOMO (Figure 1) has the highest mean out
Proceedings of the 2020 HFES 64th International Annual Meeting
of the three categories. It is unclear if there is a category
difference in Loneliness (Figure 2) due to the very high variance
in the data.
Table 3. ANOVA analysis
Model P-value
Loneliness ~ Categories 0.19
FOMO ~ Categories 0.10
An ANOVA analysis was made (Table 3), and the results
showed that there was no significant difference between usage
Copyright 2020 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved. 10.1177/1071181320641183
categories and Loneliness scores, but there might be a
difference in FOMO scores depending on how you are using
your phone. Using social media more might connect you with
more people and reduce feelings of loneliness, but it might be
linked to higher levels of FOMO.
Personality Traits and FOMO
Using multiple linear regression, the big-five personality
traits were tested as predictors of FOMO. Three dimensions
were significant: Agreeableness, Extraversion and
Neuroticism.
Figure 3. Big Five traits as predictors of FOMO
Higher levels of all three dimensions were linked to higher
levels of FOMO. Subjects high in Agreeableness have
compliance feelings, probably being more affected by social
norms. Extraverted subjects are usually sociable and
excitement-seekers, which can be linked to the fear of not being
part of something. Neuroticism is linked to vulnerability and
low self-confidence, along with anxiety feelings that FOMO
comprises.
Feelings from social media use and FOMO and Loneliness
Feelings towards social media use was measured by asking
subjects to choose from 10 adjectives that describe the best their
usual feelings after using their phones for social media. A total
of ten different feelings were provided (Happy, Sad, Excited,
Jealous, Angry, Guilty, Inspired, Alone, Relaxed and
Confident), half of them being negative, and the other half
being positive. Subjects were then classified into three possible
categories: only negative feelings, only positive feelings or with
mixed feelings. Table 4 has the representation of each category.
Whilst majority of subjects had positive feelings after using
794
social media, still more than 40% experienced negative or
mixed feelings from its use.
Table 4. Feelings and its representation
Classification Representation
Positive 59.2%
Negative 13.6%
Mixed 27.2%
To evaluate if the feelings towards social media usage relate to
FOMO and loneliness levels, data was visualized using
boxplots to pre-assess possible group differences (Figures 4 and
5). Subjects with positive feelings after using social media had
a lower average loneliness score, with negative feelings having
the highest mean loneliness score. Mixed feelings also had a
higher mean than positive feelings. There was not a clear group
difference between groups and FOMO levels.
Figure 4. Loneliness scores and types of feelings
Figure 5. FOMO scores and types of feelings
To evaluate if there is a significant difference between
groups, an ANOVA analysis was done (Table 5). There was no
significant difference between perceived feelings of the three
groups and FOMO scores, as already expected from the box-
plot analysis. It was also confirmed that there was a significant
difference between the three groups and Loneliness scores.
Subjects that experience positive feelings from social media
might be taking better advantage of this tool, connecting with
friends and family, and feeling less lonely.
Proceedings of the 2020 HFES 64th International Annual Meeting
Table 5. ANOVA Analysis
Model P-value
Loneliness ~ Perceived Feelings 0.00*
FOMO ~ Perceived Feelings 0.88
DISCUSSION
The impacts of smartphone and social media usage are an
important assessment to make. The current trend is to increase
the overall technology usage in our daily lives, and little is
known about the behavioral effects of it. This study gives good
Copyright 2020 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved. 10.1177/1071181320641183
insights about some common traces of engineering students
from the Generation Z. As expected, participants are highly
utilizing smartphones and social media platforms. The average
total time spent on their smartphones was 4.6 hours per day with
an average of 10.8 hours of social media use per week.
The sample was overall highly conscious, agreeable, and
opened to new experiences. Overall mean FOMO and
Loneliness scores varied considerably, clearly impacting some
subjects and showing how, even being a relatively limited
sample, individual differences still take place.
It is common to condemn social media and smartphone
usage as causing these phenomena. Results shown that total
smartphone usage time was not necessarily a predictor of
FOMO. Feelings of FOMO will arise depending on individual
differences and attitudes towards social media utilization. The
significant predictors of FOMO were three specific personality
traits: Agreeableness, Neuroticism and Extraversion. Feelings
after using social media were also analyzed as mediators of
FOMO and Loneliness. FOMO was not necessarily linked to
positive, negative or mixed feelings after using social media.
On the other hand, negative or mixed feelings were significant
predictors of higher levels of Loneliness.
The high Agreeableness of the sample might explain the
need for social acceptance and willingness to behave according
to what can be thought of social media norms. This could also
explain why people still engage in social media use even though
having negative feelings from it. The Generation Z is expected
to be an active social media user, and with interactions
switching from the real world to the online world, they might
need to adapt to remain part of a social group.
LIMITATIONS
Some important study’s limitations should be considered.
Even though the sample size was relatively robust, subjects
were pre-selected and were all mostly engineering students, not
being a complete representation of the Generation Z. Time of
measurement and cohort are also important considerations to
make. Although objective data was measured using screen-time
apps, and replacing usage estimations with actual usage,
subjects entered the data themselves, which can cause
inaccurately reported data.
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