Yao Xue, Zhao Junzhe, Chao Wenfan, Gao Dongdong, Wang Minghui, Zhao Guoxiang
School of Psychology, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng, Henan, 475004, China, 1 368-378-6210.
J Med Internet Res. 2025 Jul 18;27:e75701. doi: 10.2196/75701.
In today's digital landscape, social media proliferation offers easier access to others' information and social activities but also introduces challenges such as social media fatigue (SMF). Previous studies have linked the fear of missing out (FoMO) to SMF; however, the directionality of this relationship remains unclear.
This study aimed to explore the relationship between FoMO and SMF among college students and examine whether a mutually predictive relationship exists between them.
This study adopted a longitudinal research design, administering questionnaires at two distinct time points (ie, T1 and T2) separated by a two-month interval. At T1, the questionnaire included demographic variables of the research subjects (student ID, name, gender, etc.), the Fear of Missing Out Scale, and the Social Media Fatigue Scale. At T2, the questionnaire consisted only of collecting demographic information (student ID and name) for matching, along with the same two scales. Following data collection, the datasets from the two time points were matched based on the demographic information; only successfully matched data were included in the final analyses. Subsequently, descriptive statistics and correlation analyses of FoMO and SMF at T1 and T2 were conducted using SPSS (version 26.0). Finally, a cross-lagged panel analysis was conducted using the FoMO and SMF at T1 and T2 to examine the autoregressive and cross-lagged relationships between the variables over time.
A total of 862 valid questionnaires were matched across the two data collection steps. Correlation analysis showed that FoMO at T1 was positively correlated with SMF at T1 (r=0.340; P<.001) and FoMO at T2 (r=0.332; P<.001) and SMF at T2 (r=0.229; P<.001). FoMO at T2 was positively correlated with SMF at T1 (r=0.217; P<.001) and T2 (r=0.417; P<.001). SMF at T1 and T2 were also positively correlated (r=0.425; P<.001). The cross-lagged regression results indicated that using the autoregressive path, FoMO at T1 positively predicted FoMO at T2 (β=0.300; P<.001), and SMF at T1 positively predicted SMF at T2 (β=0.351; P<.001). Additionally, FoMO at T1 positively predicted SMF at T2 (β=0.067; P=.003), and SMF at T1 positively predicted FoMO at T2 (β=0.156; P<.001).
There is a bidirectional relationship between FoMO and SMF among college students, suggesting a mutual influence over each other and that this relationship perpetuates a negative cycle. These findings further extend existing research and provide insights for developing mental health programs for college students.
在当今的数字环境中，社交媒体的普及使人们更容易获取他人的信息和社交活动，但也带来了诸如社交媒体疲劳（SMF）等挑战。先前的研究已将错失恐惧（FoMO）与SMF联系起来；然而，这种关系的方向性仍不明确。
本研究旨在探讨大学生中FoMO与SMF之间的关系，并检验它们之间是否存在相互预测的关系。
本研究采用纵向研究设计，在两个相隔两个月的不同时间点（即T1和T2）发放问卷。在T1时，问卷包括研究对象的人口统计学变量（学号、姓名、性别等）、错失恐惧量表和社交媒体疲劳量表。在T2时，问卷仅包括收集用于匹配的人口统计学信息（学号和姓名）以及相同的两个量表。数据收集后，根据人口统计学信息对两个时间点的数据集进行匹配；最终分析仅纳入成功匹配的数据。随后，使用SPSS（版本26.0）对T1和T2时的FoMO和SMF进行描述性统计和相关性分析。最后，使用T1和T2时的FoMO和SMF进行交叉滞后面板分析，以检验变量随时间的自回归和交叉滞后关系。
在两个数据收集步骤中总共匹配了862份有效问卷。相关性分析表明，T1时的FoMO与T1时的SMF呈正相关（r = 0.340；P <.001）、与T2时的FoMO呈正相关（r = 0.332；P <.001）以及与T2时的SMF呈正相关（r = 0.229；P <.001）。T2时的FoMO与T1时的SMF呈正相关（r = 0.217；P <.001）以及与T2时的SMF呈正相关（r = 0.417；P <.001）。T1和T2时的SMF也呈正相关（r = 0.425；P <.001）。交叉滞后回归结果表明，使用自回归路径时，T1时的FoMO正向预测T2时的FoMO（β = 0.300；P <.001），T1时的SMF正向预测T2时的SMF（β = 0.351；P <.001）。此外，T1时的FoMO正向预测T2时的SMF（β = 0.067；P =.003），T1时的SMF正向预测T2时的FoMO（β = 0.156；P <.001）。
大学生中FoMO与SMF之间存在双向关系，表明二者相互影响，且这种关系会形成一个恶性循环。这些发现进一步扩展了现有研究，并为制定大学生心理健康项目提供了见解。
