Examining the relationship between smartphone addiction, fear of missing out (FoMO) and life satisfaction in adults

Aim: To evaluate the relationships between fear of missing out, smartphone addiction and life satisfaction according to the demographic and sociocultural characteristics of the individuals. Material and Method: A total of 336 people who accepted to participate in the study via Google Survey method and filled out the questionnaires completely were included. Before the interview, the participants' informed consent was obtained and a data collection form was applied. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. In order to obtain the data in this study, the Participant Information Form, the Smartphone Addiction Scale for Adults, the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) Scale and the Life Satisfaction Scale were used. Results: 34.8% of the participants were male, 65.2% were female. The average age of the participants was 31.36. When the daily social media checking frequency was examined, it was seen that 51.8% of the participants checked frequently and 18.8% checked very frequently. When the duration of social media use was examined, 44.9% of them checked for 1-2 hours, 28.9% for 3-4 hours, and 14.9% for more than 4 hours. As the daily social media usage duration increased, smartphone addiction and FOMO levels increased, and life satisfaction decreased. The average score of the participants on the Smartphone Addiction Scale was 84.91, the average score of the FOMO Scale was 18.07, and the average score of the Life Satisfaction Scale was 13.99. While married individuals had a lower level of smartphone addiction, their life satisfaction was higher than single individuals. While smartphone addiction decreased with age, life satisfaction increased. Conclusion: It is seen that adults participating in the study use smartphones at a very high rate with 99.7%. While the relationship between smartphone addiction and FoMO is quite strong and positively correlated, there is a negative relationship between life satisfaction. Individuals who are anxious about following what is happening on social media experience a decrease in their life satisfaction level. Key Words: Smartphone Addiction, Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Life Satisfaction