En el contexto de las investigaciones sobre el uso intensivo y/o maladaptativo del teléfono móvil y de las redes sociales en línea se han ido describiendo nuevos fenómenos que pueden ser asociados a un malestar psicológico importante. El fear of missing out o FoMO (miedo a perderse algo) es un nuevo constructo psicológico que se ha descrito como la sensación de malestar al saber que otras personas están realizando actividades agradables y que uno no es parte de ello. El presente estudio investiga la relación entre el grado de FoMO experimentado, los indicadores de uso problemático del teléfono móvil y los indicadores de malestar psicológico. Mediante un análisis de regresión lineal jerárquico se encontró que tanto la conducta adictiva en torno al teléfono móvil como el FoMO son importantes predictores de síntomas psicopatológicos, especialmente, de ansiedad. El fear of missing out se perfila como un correlato importante del uso desadaptativo del smartphone y de las redes sociales en línea.

Background:The goals of the present work were to retrieve the scientific articles published on addiction to the Internet, video games, and cell phones and to analyze the pattern of publications in this area (who is doing the research, when and where it is taking place, and in which journals it is being published), to determine the research being conducted as well as to document geographical trends in publication over time in three types of technological addictions: Internet, cell phones, and video games.Methods:Articles indexed in PubMed and PsycINFO between 2006 and 2010 related to the pathological use of Internet, cell phones, and video games were retrieved. Search results were reviewed to eliminate articles that were not relevant or were duplicates.Results:Three hundred and thirty valid articles were retrieved from PubMed and PsycINFO from 2006 to 2010. Results were compared with those of 1996–2005. The year with the highest number of articles published was 2008 (n = 96). The most productive countries, in terms of number of articles published, were China (n = 67), the United States (n = 56), the United Kingdom (n = 47), and Taiwan (n = 33). The most commonly used language was English (70.3%), followed by Chinese (15.4%). Articles were published in 153 different journals. The journal that published the most articles was Cyberpsychology and Behavior (n = 73), followed by Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology (n = 27) and International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (n = 16). Internet was the area most frequently studied, with an increasing interest in other areas such as online video games and cell phones.Conclusions:The number of publications on technological addictions reached a peak in 2008. The scientific contributions of China, Taiwan, and Korea are overrepresented compared to other scientific fields such as drug addiction. The inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition could change the publication trends in the technological addiction area and underline the relevance of this upcoming disorder in dissatisfaction with life in general.

New technologies such as the Internet and Mobile Phones are designed to help us stay informed and communicate. Recent studies have suggested that these technologies are likely to affect behavior and behavioral control. Internet and Mobile Phones make it especially easy to communicate emotions and feelings, give us immediate social reinforcement and are permanently accessible. This seems to produce little in the way of real-life effects, but researchers claim there is a possibility of addictive behavior, with a special impact on teenagers and young adults. Seemingly, this effect is different in different cultures. People from Asian countries are more likely to be vulnerable to developing problematic use of the Internet and mobile phones. These considerations lead us to a concern about the risk factors involved in having an Internet or Mobile Phone addiction, how this sort of addiction might affect people, which relation exists between the two and how to diagnose such a condition.