Mental Effort and Smartphones: Examining the Roles of Problematic Smartphone Use, FoMO, and Neuroticism

Does smartphone use negatively affect cognition? While numerous studies have linked problematic smartphone use (PSU) to psychopathology, negative affect, and fear of missing out (FoMO), less is known about how these traits relate to actual cognitive behavior. In this study, we examined whether individuals with higher levels of PSU, neuroticism, and FoMO are less willing to invest time in a cognitively demanding behavioral task. Active smartphone users completed self‐report measures of PSU, personality, and FoMO, then performed an online Mooney image task—a set of ambiguous two‐tone images requiring sustained effort to interpret—used as a proxy for cognitive persistence. The primary outcome was the median time participants spent attempting to solve each image. As expected, PSU, neuroticism, and FoMO were positively correlated. However, none of these variables predicted the amount of time participants spent on the task or the number of images they successfully identified. Only age was significantly associated with longer time spent on the task, and the explanatory power was very limited. These findings provide behavioral evidence from a Mooney image task suggesting that self‐reported tendencies linked to PSU may not translate into reduced cognitive engagement, offering a more nuanced view of the link between digital media use and task‐related behavior.