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1. Introduction
The eminent Greek philosopher Aristotle once said:
Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than humans. Society is something that preceded the individual.
The entire humankind’s well-being and existence thus require the creation and nurturing of human bonds which are purely social (Baumeister and Leary, 1995). However, the world is changing at a swift pace and so is the behavior of human beings. The evolution and rapid expansion of digital and technological infrastructure have altered human bonds’ meaning, creation and nurturing. The offline and online life of the human race is increasingly becoming intertwined (Przybylski et al., 2013), providing ample scope and opportunities for interaction and engagement without thinking of geographical boundaries and physical distance. Devices like smartphones are now deeply embedded in the daily life of individuals (Aranda and Baig, 2018). Multiple utilities and functions provided by smartphones have made smartphones extended self of an individual’s life (Aylett and Lawson, 2016). Also, “connectivity – social and network” is an essential defining aspect of all digital devices (Lord et al., 2015) which has made them an indispensable part of human life.
With the growth in digital infrastructure, the popularity of digital devices, and smartphones in every pocket, the yearning to stay connected with others has increased manifold (Metin-Orta, 2020). This has also raised concerns about the problematic usage of the internet (PUI) – a blanket term that encompasses a range of behaviors that leads to “psychosocial and functional impairments” (Fineberg et al., 2018). Continuous utilization of the internet and related digital technologies, smartphones and other connected devices has accelerated the PUI. Also, this has impacted the emotional and psychological health of individuals. Further, this anytime and anywhere connectivity has also boosted individuals’ fear of missing something that may be trending online. This fear is an area of apprehension and is termed as fear of missing out (FOMO) by scholars and researchers (Przybylski et al., 2013). The concept of FOMO is not novel (Hodkinson, 2019) and has been a critical research interest area for the academic fraternity. FOMO connection with the amount of social media usage (SMU) has grabbed the attention of a substantial...