PUBLICATIONS
CHAPTER: THE FEAR OF BEING LEFT OUT: EVALUATION AND VARIABLES INVOLVED
According to the Digital Report (Park et al., 2022) more than two-thirds (67.1%) of the world’s population uses a cell phone. During the forced lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, any of the channels used to connect virtually were the nexus to maintain social ties, the circulation of information, and also to sustain recreational, occupational, academic and social activities. Thousands of people logged on to recreate recipes, do yoga or exercise, celebrate birthdays, stay informed about the pandemic, or circulate positive messages and encouragement. Many of the habits and customs we created have come to stay, such as online training and work (Hayran & Anik 2021; Scheinfeld & Voorhees, 2022).
Fear of Missing Out, Emotional Intelligence and Attachment in Older Adults in Argentina
This article belongs to the Special Issue: Emotion and Aging
In recent years, the rise of social networks has changed relationships and lifestyles around the world. This has led to the emergence of the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), which consists of the need to constantly check social media and the anguish that comes from feeling a lack of rewarding experiences. The impact derived from the use of technologies in a digital environment has been widely studied in young people but not so much in older adults. The main aim of this study was to analyze FoMO levels in older adults and their relationships with sociodemographic and formative factors. Another aim of this study was to analyze whether the dimensions of emotional intelligence, the different forms of attachment and psychological symptomatology affect the FoMO levels of older adults. A total of 690 older adults from Argentina aged between 60 and 90 years (M = 69.01; SD = 5.48) participated, 54.5% of whom were women, responding using a geolocated online questionnaire. The main results confirmed that older people show FoMO levels similar to other general samples. In addition, results show several predictor variables with respect to FoMO: emotional attention, insecure attachment, depression and difficulties in interpersonal relationships. The implications of the results observed in older adults are discussed.
Validation of the Perceived Phubbing Scale to the Argentine Context
This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Cyberpsychology: The Influences of Internet and Online Applications in Daily Life
In recent years, the increased use of mobile devices has changed social dynamics. One such change is the rise of phubbing, described as the behavior of ignoring someone in order to pay attention to one’s cell phone. The purpose of this research was to validate the Perceived Phubbing Scale (PPS) and examine its relationship with other psychological variables. An Argentine sample was composed of 1608 participants aged between 18 and 65 (M = 45.59; SD 14.03), with 51.6% identifying as female. They were provided with a phubbing scale, along with scales to measure emotional disconnection, fear of missing out (FoMO) and social exclusion, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The results indicated that the PPS showed an adequate fit to the data, based on a structure of one factor (X2 (20) = 259.353, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.958; IFI = 0.958; RMSEA = 0.089) and the internal consistency (α = 0.93), resulting in a nine-item scale. Participants with high or medium levels of phubbing showed a tendency to suffer FoMO or feel socially excluded or socially isolated. We did not find differences in the levels of phubbing related to the participant’s age, gender, or socioeconomic level. It is possible to conclude that PPS can be used as a reliable measure to evaluate perceived phubbing in Argentina. Implications of the variables studied are discussed as possible predictors of phubbing and are to be considered in its approach.