Fear of Missing Out, Gaming Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder: Systematic Review

Internet gaming disorder (IGD), Gaming disorder (GD) and fear of missing out (FoMO) share a dysfunctional use of technology. Despite the increased academic interest in the relationship between these constructs, no attempts have been made to synthesize extant knowledge on it. Therefore, this paper presents a systematic review following the PRISMA protocol assessing 13 manuscripts.

Overall, studies have confirmed a correlation between FoMO and IGD or GD, a direct effect of FoMO on IGD or GD, and a mediating role of FoMO with IGD/GD and psychosocial variables.

In conclusion, FoMO is a complex construct and must be studied further to determine its components and forms such as trait-FoMO, and state-FoMO, and applied to the online context in order to properly understand this construct. This could have practical implications for the intervention and prevention of GD/IGD and FoMO.