Project description:Much research has been conducted on the association between social networks use disorder tendencies (SNUD; i.e. problematic social media use) and well-being. In more detail, a meta-analysis and further research suggest an inverse association between higher SNUD tendencies and lower well-being. In existing studies on social media use and well-being, this association has often been investigated by asking participants about their life satisfaction and/or emotional well-being. A path that has only recently been used to shed further light on SNUD tendencies is the assessment of meaning in life. Against this background, the present study aimed to investigate both the search for and presence of meaning in life in the context of SNUD tendencies in 955 participants. To the best of our knowledge and beyond what has been mentioned, this study is the first to investigate the links between meaning in life variables and state/trait fear of missing out (FoMO), with FoMO being a critical variable known to be linked to the overuse of digital technologies. In a structural equation model, we observed that associations between FoMO and meaning in life variables was mediated by SNUD tendencies. Although the present study is of cross-cultural nature and cannot establish causality, it might be the case that proneness to FoMO might trigger SNUD tendencies and as a consequence, results in more search for meaning in life, while hindering presence of meaning in life.
Project description:Background: The fear of missing out (FoMO) on social media refers to the apprehension that online content and interactions from others are unseen and reacted to in a timely fashion. FoMO can become problematic, leading to anxiety, interrupted sleep, lack of concentration and dependence on social media to generate gratification. The literature has mainly focused on understanding the FoMO experience, factors contributing to it and its consequences. Method: In this paper, we build on previous research and develop a FoMO Reduction (FoMO-R) approach that embraces technical elements such as autoreply, filtering, status, education on how FoMO occurs and skills on how to deal with it; e.g., self-talk and checklists. We evaluate the method through focus groups and a diary study involving 30 participants who self-declared to experience FoMO regularly. Results: The results show that the method was accepted by the participants and helped them to manage their FoMO. They also show that a set of extra functionalities in social media design is needed so that users can manage FoMO more effectively. Conclusion: FoMO can be reduced through socio-technical approaches, joining both social and technical skills, and literacy on how social media are designed and how social interactions should happen on them.
Project description:BackgroundWith the popularity of mobile socialization, people have become more closely connected with their phones. While people enjoy the convenience that phones bring (e.g., accessing information and socializing), they also feel anxious about missing out on certain information. Previous researches have shown that fear of missing out (FoMO) can trigger depressive symptoms, however, the underlying psychological mechanisms are not yet clear. In addition, limited research has explored this issue in the context of mobile social media.MethodsTo address this research gap, we surveyed 486 Chinese college students (278 males and 208 females, mean age = 19.95 years, SD = 1.14) and all participants completed a self-report questionnaire including mobile social media-related FoMO scale, phubbing scale, social exclusion scale, and the patient health questionnaire-9. The data were analyzed by SPSS24.0 and the Process macro and developed a mediating and moderating model incorporating phubbing and social exclusion.ResultsThe results showed that (1) mobile social media-related FoMO (MSM-related FoMO) can significantly and positively predict depressive symptoms among college students; (2) phubbing partially mediates the relationship between MSM-related FoMO and depressive symptoms; (3) the direct predictive effect of MSM-related FoMO on depressive symptoms is moderated by social exclusion.ConclusionThese findings are not only valuable for understanding the underlying mechanisms linking MSM-related FoMO and depressive symptoms, but also contribute to the development of psychological intervention programs (e.g., interventions based on social exclusion or phubbing) aiming at reducing college students' depressive symptoms.
Project description:BackgroundSocial media use has been linked to poor sleep outcomes among university students in the cyber age, but the association between the negative consequences of social media use and sleep problems is not yet well understood. The present study investigated the relationships among social media usage, social media fatigue (SMF), fear of missing out (FoMO), social media addiction (SMA) and sleep quality in university students.MethodAn online survey was administered to 2744 respondents that included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); questionnaires evaluating FoMO, SMF, and SMA; and questions regarding sleep duration, social media use, health status, and demographic information.ResultA total of 19.9% of respondents suffered from sleep disturbance. A total of 15.6% of participants had sleep durations less than 5 h, and 21.6% of subjects had sleep durations longer than 9 h. Sleep quality was positively associated with SMF (OR = 1.387, 95% CI: 1.103~1.743), and SMA (OR = 1.415, 95% CI: 1.118~1.791). The relationship between FoMO and sleep disturbance was not significant. Compared to a sleep duration > 9 h, SMF increased the risk of shorter sleep durations [5-6 h sleep (OR = 2.226, 95% CI: 1.132~4.375), 6-7 h sleep (OR = 1.458, 95% CI: 1.061~2.002), and 7-8 h sleep (OR = 1.296, 95% CI: 1.007~1.670)]. FoMO and SMA did not significantly affect sleep duration. In addition, SMA (OR = 3.775, 95% CI: 3.141~4.537), FoMO (OR = 3.301, 95% CI: 2.753~3.958), and sleep disorders (OR = 1.284, 95% CI: 1.006~1.638) increased SMF.ConclusionUpon experiencing negative consequences of social media use, such as SMF and SMA, university students were likely to experience sleep problems. Further research exploring the interventions that improve sleep and alleviate negative consequences of social media use should be conducted.
Project description:This mixed-methods study explored adolescents' (n = 682) feelings of social connection in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and examined potential risk (fear of missing out, problematic smartphone use) and protective (parent/peer attachment, smartphone use) factors to social disconnection. Data were collected from two schools in Canada using an online survey with questionnaires and open-ended questions. Three themes regarding adolescents' feelings of social connection during the pandemic were identified through thematic content analysis: (1) feeling socially connected, (2) feeling socially disconnected, and (3) feeling socially indifferent. Moreover, regression analysis identified secure peer attachments as a protective factor against social disconnection in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, while fear of missing out was identified as an independent risk factor.
Project description:The present study investigates links between fear of COVID-19, the personality trait of neuroticism, social networks use disorder, and smartphone use disorder (SNUD and SmUD, respectively) tendencies. In an online survey, N = 932 participants recruited at a Chinese University (237 males and 695 females) completed self-reports on fear of COVID-19, neuroticism (and other personality traits from the Big Five Inventory-44), the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (assessing tendencies toward SNUD), and the Smartphone Addiction Scale short version-assessing individual differences in tendencies toward SmUD. Our findings showed that all variables of main interest were positively correlated with each other. A mediation model suggested that SNUD (in parts) mediated the association between fear of COVID-19 and SmUD. Although neuroticism was robustly correlated with all mentioned variables, no moderation effect could be observed on the investigated fear-of-COVID-19-SNUD-link. The findings of this work provide further evidence that the smartphone itself is only a device giving individuals access to software applications, which might be excessively used. Beyond that, the present data indicate neuroticism to be a risk factor with respect to fear of COVID-19, SNUD, and SmUD, although the study is limited by its cross-sectional study design.
Project description:BackgroundSocial media addiction (SMA) is known to be associated with excess use of social media. However, few studies have focused on the links of self-presentation on social media, fear of missing out (FoMO) and SMA. The present study investigated the relationships of self-presentation, FoMO and SMA among university students.MethodsOnline survey was conducted with 2,744 respondents, who completed online survey including social media use, FoMO and SMA. Self-presentation on social media and privacy information protection were assessed via researcher-designed questionnaires. Self-presentation on social media was composed of basic information shown on social media and expression willingness. Privacy information protection contained information viewed by others and privacy settings in social media platforms.ResultsThe most common information posted on social media were gender, hobby, age, personal photos, videos, and birthday. The most common social platforms with privacy setting were QQ zone (62.2%), WeChat (60.1%), and QQ (40.3%). FoMO (OR = 2.852, P = 0.000), information viewed by others (OR = 4.261, P = 0.000), managing a personal homepage (OR = 1.339, P = 0.002), accept a stranger's "friend request" (OR = 1.251, P = 0.028) and undergraduate students and above (OR = 1.439, P = 0.001) predicted expression willingness. FoMO (OR = 5.278, P = 0.000), information viewed by others (OR = 9.673, P = 0.000), privacy setting in QQ (OR = 0.817, P = 0.002) and in Tik Tok (OR = 0.536, P = 0.019) and female (OR = 0.588, P = 0.004) significantly influenced basic information shown on social media. Furthermore, FoMO (OR = 4.165, P = 0.000), expression willingness (OR = 1.645, P = 0.000), and information viewed by others (OR = 1.406, P = 0.000) positively affected the level of SMA. Risk of SMA increased as time spent on social media per day. However, basic information shown on social media did not significantly influence SMA.ConclusionIn general, students with higher level of FoMO and expression willingness are more likely to experience SMA. These results highlight individual behaviors on social media should be considered as essential elements for assessing problematic engaging to social media.
Project description:Deepfakes are a troubling form of disinformation that has been drawing increasing attention. Yet, there remains a lack of psychological explanations for deepfake sharing behavior and an absence of research knowledge in non-Western contexts where public knowledge of deepfakes is limited. We conduct a cross-national survey study in eight countries to examine the role of fear of missing out (FOMO), deficient self-regulation (DSR), and cognitive ability in deepfake sharing behavior. Results are drawn from a comparative survey in seven South Asian contexts (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and compare these findings to the United States, where discussions about deepfakes have been most relevant. Overall, the results suggest that those who perceive the deepfakes to be accurate are more likely to share them on social media. Furthermore, in all countries, sharing is also driven by the social-psychological trait - FOMO. DSR of social media use was also found to be a critical factor in explaining deepfake sharing. It is also observed that individuals with low cognitive ability are more likely to share deepfakes. However, we also find that the effects of DSR on social media and FOMO are not contingent upon users' cognitive ability. The results of this study contribute to strategies to limit deepfakes propagation on social media.
Project description:ObjectivesThe prevalence of social media use in daily life is increasing; however, little is known about its cognitive costs and/or benefits. Social media use may help to offload memory to an external resource as well as to facilitate social relations, which could bolster or hinder everyday memory. Further, the relationship between social media use and memory may be moderated by age such that associations-whether positive or negative-could be exacerbated among older adults due to age-related declines.MethodsUsing an 8-day daily diary study from the Midlife in the United States Refresher cohort (n = 782, 25-75 years), multilevel models examined the impact of daily social media use, age, and their interaction on same-day and next-day memory failures.ResultsThe concurrent model revealed that on days when social media use was high, individuals reported more memory failures. The lagged model further revealed that higher previous-day social media use was associated with more memory failures on the subsequent day, controlling for previous-day memory failures. These effects were not moderated by age. Post hoc analyses revealed no evidence of reverse-causation as previous-day memory failures did not predict next-day social media use.ConclusionsAlthough past research has consistently shown that social engagement is a protective resource for memory, social media use may be a risk factor for memory failures for adults of any age. These findings highlight the growing importance of understanding the implications of social media use.
Project description:Cross-sectional research shows that adolescents' social media use (SMU) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-symptoms are related, but it is unclear whether this relation is explained by SMU intensity or by addiction-like SMU problems. Also, due to the lack of longitudinal studies, the direction of this relation remains unknown. This study aims to disentangle which type of SMU is related to ADHD-symptoms, and in which direction, using a three-wave longitudinal study among Dutch adolescents aged 11-15 years (n = 543). Findings suggest a unidirectional relation: SMU problems increased ADHD-symptoms over time, SMU intensity did not. This implies that problematic use, rather than the intensity of use harmfully affects adolescents' ADHD-symptoms.