ArticleBMC psychology2026
Unveiling symptom-level pathways: a network analysis of fear of missing out and mobile phone addiction among Chinese college students.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
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11 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPrior studies have revealed the relationship between fear of missing out (FoMO) and mobile phone addiction based on total scores. However, there has been a lack of research exploring how the specific dimensions of mobile phone addiction and items of FoMO are interrelated. The present study aimed to investigate the structural relationships between these two components and identify critical nodes using network analysis.
methodsA sample of 1,616 Chinese college students (aged 18-25) completed the Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMOs) and the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI). We employed network analysis to estimate the network structure and identify central and bridge symptoms using Expected Influence (EI) and Bridge Expected Influence (BEI).
resultsThe network revealed stronger connections within the FoMO and mobile phone addiction communities than between them. Beyond this, several theoretically meaningful cross-community connections were identified. Among nodes, "Feeling anxiety and lost" (FAL), "Fear of friends' superior experiences" (FoMO2), "Fear of social oblivion" (FoMO3), and "Wasting time on tracking information" (FoMO6) exhibited the highest EI values. Crucially, "Feeling anxiety and lost" (FAL) and "Wasting time on tracking information" (FoMO6) also demonstrated the highest BEI values in their respective communities, identifying them as the most influential bridge nodes.
conclusionThe connections between specific FoMO items and mobile phone addiction dimensions are crucial for understanding their fine-grained relationships. Among the identified central nodes, "Feeling anxiety and lost" (FAL) and "Wasting time on tracking information" (FoMO6) were uniquely influential, serving as both central nodes within their respective communities and the key bridges connecting them. This dual role positions "Feeling anxiety and lost" and "Wasting time on tracking information" as statistically prominent nodes that warrant further investigation. Future research is needed to test whether modifying these nodes may attenuate the co-occurrence of FoMO and mobile phone addiction.
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