Night-time electronic device use, fear of missing out, sleep difficulties, anxiety and well-being in the UK and Spain: a cross-cultural comparison

Caba-Machado, V, Mcilroy, D AND Padilla-Adamuz, FM

(2024)

Night-time electronic device use, fear of missing out, difficulty falling asleep, anxiety and well-being in the UK and Spain: A cross-cultural comparison.

Current Psychology, 43 (24). pp. 21134-21145. ISSN 1046-1310

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Abstract

Electronic devices, such as smartphones, have become a fundamental part of young people’s lives. Fear of missing out appears to affect the ability to set boundaries around sleep time. The aim of this study is to investigate (1) pre-sleep use of electronic devices, sleep quality, anxiety and well-being in female and male university students in the UK and Spain, (2) whether fear of missing out (FoMO) in university students is associated with greater night-time electronic device use by gender. A cross-sectional, quantitative design was used via Qualtrics.com. Samples were formed by N = 159 British participants and N = 172 Spanish participants. The results of this study suggest that fear of missing out in women is a predictor of night-time electronic device use in both countries, but not in men. Night-time electronic device use is a predictor of: greater sleep difficulties in both British and British women and in Spanish women, greater FoMO in both countries but not in men, and greater negative experiences in Spanish women. Nighttime electronic device use did not predict life satisfaction or loneliness. There is a lack of literature examining general nighttime electronic device use habits, fear of missing out, well-being, and mental health, a lack of cross-cultural studies, and studies that consider well-being not with positive or negative factors but from a broad construct perspective. The results suggest the need to assess FoMO levels in students in clinical practice, especially in women, and to include this construct in prevention and intervention programs.

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