Network analysis reveals central and bridge symptoms of fear of missing out and mobile phone addiction in college students, indicating critical relationships.
Key Points
The study aims to explore the structural relationships between fear of missing out and mobile phone addiction, identifying critical nodes within the network.
Sample of 1,616 Chinese college students aged 18–25 completed the Fear of Missing Out Scale and Mobile Phone Addiction Index.
Network analysis was employed to estimate network structure, utilizing Expected Influence and Bridge Expected Influence to identify key symptoms.
Analysis focused on interrelationships between specific dimensions of mobile phone addiction and items of fear of missing out.
Stronger connections were found within the fear of missing out and mobile phone addiction communities than between them.
'Feeling anxiety and lost' and 'Wasting time on tracking information' emerged as the most influential nodes with high Expected Influence and Bridge Expected Influence values.
Several meaningful cross-community connections were identified, warranting further exploration of these relationships.