The Impact of Loneliness on Problematic Internet Use Among College Students In Remote Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Roles of Fear of Missing Out and Perceived Stress

This study examined the role of fear of missing out(FoMO) and perceived stress on the relationship between college students’ loneliness and problematic internet use(PIU) based on a model of compensatory internet use and Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model. A total of 289 freshmen and sophomore who have enrolled at least one full semester during the COVID-19 pandemic participated. The results indicated that college student's loneliness had a significant positive effect on PIU through fear of missing out and perceived stress. Furthermore, fear of missing out and perceived stress have sequential mediating effects on the the link between loneliness and PIU. Based on these results, implications for counseling practice and future research are discussed.