Fear of missing out and problematic social media use: A serial mediation model of social comparison and self-esteem

Rocco Servidio; Paolo Soraci; Mark D Griffiths; Stefano Boca; Zsolt Demetrovics

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100536

Fear of missing out and problematic social media use: A serial mediation model of social comparison and self-esteem

Addict Behav Rep. 2024 Mar 5:19:100536. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100536. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Authors

Rocco Servidio¹, Paolo Soraci², Mark D Griffiths³, Stefano Boca⁴, Zsolt Demetrovics^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Culture, Education and Society, University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, Building Cube 20/B, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
² Università Niccolo Cusano, Via Don Carlo Gnocchi, n.3, Roma, Italy.
³ International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
⁵ Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Spain.
⁶ Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.

Abstract

Background and aim: Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is consistently associated with problematic social media use (PSMU). Moreover, previous studies have shown a significant association between FoMO, self-esteem, and social comparison. However, there is a lack of studies that have investigated the relationship between, FoMO, social comparison, self-esteem, and PSMU in an integrated model. The present study hypothesized that FoMO may influence PSMU through the serial mediating role of social comparison and self-esteem.

Method: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted comprising 256 Italian university students (74.4% female), aged 18 to 38 years (M = 23.05 years; SD = 3.58). The participants completed an online survey assessing the variables of the study.

Results: Controlling for age and gender, the results showed positive associations between FoMO, social comparison, and PSMU, and a negative association between FoMO and self-esteem. Self-esteem was also negatively associated with PSMU. It was also found that social comparison and self-esteem sequentially mediated the association between FoMO and PSMU.

Conclusions: The present study contributes to understanding the mechanisms that underline the complex effects of FoMO on PSMU.

Keywords: Fear of missing out; Mediation analysis; Problematic social media use; Self-esteem; Social comparison.