A study on Social media use, Psychological wellbeing and Fear of Missing Out among Young Adults

Abstract

Excessive social media use has become increasingly common among young adults, raising concerns about its effect on psychological wellbeing and fear of missing out (FOMO). The current research examined the link between excessive social media use, psychological wellbeing and FOMO and evaluated whether social media use influences wellbeing and FOMO. This study was conducted among 44 college students (23 females and 21 males) aged 18-24 years using. Data was obtained using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Fear of Missing Out Scale (Przybylski et al., 2013). And the Warwick- Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS). The analysis revealed that excessive social media use was positively associated with FOMO and negatively associated with psychological wellbeing, while psychological well being showed a meaningful negative association with FOMO. No significant gender differences were identified, and psychological wellbeing neither mediated nor moderated the relationship between social media use and FOMO. The findings highlight that psychological wellbeing has a stronger influence in understanding FOMO, than social media use alone, emphasizing the need to promote healthy and balanced social media use and psychological well being among college students.