Associations Between Fear of Missing Out, Problematic Smartphone Use, and Social Networking Services Fatigue Among Young Adults

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to adapt the Information and communication technology (ICT) Overload and social networking service (SNS) Fatigue Scale to measure the overload and SNSs fatigue experienced by individuals while using ICTs in the Turkish language and analyze the adapted scale based on various variables. The scale adaptation procedure was conducted by surveying 225 undergraduate-level university students. In addition to discriminant and convergent reliability, the general fitness index parameters were compared with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and the model results were found in accordance with the acceptable fitness index criteria, with clarification as a complete model in all sub-dimensions. The relationships between fear of missing out (FoMO), problematic smartphone use (PSU), and SNSs Fatigue levels of the participants were also investigated. The adapted scale was then applied to 469 participants. The findings demonstrated that there was a significant difference between PSU and SNS Fatigue levels of participants based on gender, favoring females. It was also revealed that the variables of interest FoMO and SNS Fatigue together predicted the PSU.