Understanding Digital Consumer Dependency: The Mediating Role of Fear of Missing Out in the Relationship Between Boredom Proneness and Nomophobia

In today’s digital world, mobile phones are indispensable tools for communication, information access, and social engagement. As consumers become increasingly digitally connected, understanding the drivers of digital consumer dependency has become an important issue in consumer behavior research. The current study examined the mediating role of fear of missing out (FoMO) in the relationship between boredom proneness and nomophobia. Specifically, the study examines how boredom proneness affects digital consumer dependency through FoMO, thereby contributing to the digital consumer behavior literature. To achieve this goal, the study used structural equation modeling to examine direct and indirect effects. The data were gathered using a quantitative method through an online survey of 441 participants. The results show that boredom proneness significantly affects both nomophobia and FoMO. Furthermore, FoMO was found to mediate the relationship between boredom proneness and nomophobia. Overall, the findings suggest that FoMO functions as an important motivational mechanism linking boredom proneness to mobile phone dependency and digital connectivity behaviors.