Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionism
A growing number of studies have focused on understanding the phenomenon known as Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and the factors contributing to it. This study examines the potential role of psychological variables that refer to self-evaluation in relation to others, such as social media addiction, soci...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Acta Psychologica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825000848 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832542426135265280 |
|---|---|
| author | Bettina F. Piko Vanessa Müller Hedvig Kiss David Mellor |
| author_facet | Bettina F. Piko Vanessa Müller Hedvig Kiss David Mellor |
| author_sort | Bettina F. Piko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A growing number of studies have focused on understanding the phenomenon known as Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and the factors contributing to it. This study examines the potential role of psychological variables that refer to self-evaluation in relation to others, such as social media addiction, social comparison, perfectionism, and loneliness. Hungarian university students (N = 255; 70.6 % females, aged between 18 and 35 years, Mage = 23.61 years; SD = 4.59) completed an online survey during the fall semester of the academic year 2023/2024. Based on correlation, multiple regression and path analysis, we found that social comparison was the strongest predictor of FoMO (β = 0.43, p < .001). While social media addiction (β = 0.20, p < .001), loneliness (β = 0.13, p < .01), and perfectionism (β = 0.14, p < .05) also contributed directly to FoMO, these variables also served as mediators in the link between social comparison and FoMO. These findings draw attention to the need for social skills training in which students can learn to successfully handle various social situations. In addition, mindfulness-based intervention may help them become more conscious during online activities and they can better understand the role of social comparison in concrete social situations. Developing educational materials for students to inform them about the nature of FoMO and how to manage it would also be useful to improve the users' digital resilience of users. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1aed37891e804fa8a3e2c7316f5cf3f6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0001-6918 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Psychologica |
| spelling | doaj-art-1aed37891e804fa8a3e2c7316f5cf3f62025-02-04T04:10:15ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-03-01253104771Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionismBettina F. Piko0Vanessa Müller1Hedvig Kiss2David Mellor3Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary; Corresponding author at: Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Szeged, 6722 Szeged, Mars square 20, Hungary.Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungaryDepartment of Behavioral Sciences, University of Szeged, Szeged, HungarySchool of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125, AustraliaA growing number of studies have focused on understanding the phenomenon known as Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and the factors contributing to it. This study examines the potential role of psychological variables that refer to self-evaluation in relation to others, such as social media addiction, social comparison, perfectionism, and loneliness. Hungarian university students (N = 255; 70.6 % females, aged between 18 and 35 years, Mage = 23.61 years; SD = 4.59) completed an online survey during the fall semester of the academic year 2023/2024. Based on correlation, multiple regression and path analysis, we found that social comparison was the strongest predictor of FoMO (β = 0.43, p < .001). While social media addiction (β = 0.20, p < .001), loneliness (β = 0.13, p < .01), and perfectionism (β = 0.14, p < .05) also contributed directly to FoMO, these variables also served as mediators in the link between social comparison and FoMO. These findings draw attention to the need for social skills training in which students can learn to successfully handle various social situations. In addition, mindfulness-based intervention may help them become more conscious during online activities and they can better understand the role of social comparison in concrete social situations. Developing educational materials for students to inform them about the nature of FoMO and how to manage it would also be useful to improve the users' digital resilience of users.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825000848Fear of missing outSocial comparisonSocial media addictionPerfectionismLoneliness |
| spellingShingle | Bettina F. Piko Vanessa Müller Hedvig Kiss David Mellor Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionism Acta Psychologica Fear of missing out Social comparison Social media addiction Perfectionism Loneliness |
| title | Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionism |
| title_full | Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionism |
| title_fullStr | Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionism |
| title_short | Exploring contributors to FoMO (fear of missing out) among university students: The role of social comparison, social media addiction, loneliness, and perfectionism |
| title_sort | exploring contributors to fomo fear of missing out among university students the role of social comparison social media addiction loneliness and perfectionism |
| topic | Fear of missing out Social comparison Social media addiction Perfectionism Loneliness |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825000848 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bettinafpiko exploringcontributorstofomofearofmissingoutamonguniversitystudentstheroleofsocialcomparisonsocialmediaaddictionlonelinessandperfectionism AT vanessamuller exploringcontributorstofomofearofmissingoutamonguniversitystudentstheroleofsocialcomparisonsocialmediaaddictionlonelinessandperfectionism AT hedvigkiss exploringcontributorstofomofearofmissingoutamonguniversitystudentstheroleofsocialcomparisonsocialmediaaddictionlonelinessandperfectionism AT davidmellor exploringcontributorstofomofearofmissingoutamonguniversitystudentstheroleofsocialcomparisonsocialmediaaddictionlonelinessandperfectionism |