Loneliness moderates the predictive effect of the trait-state FoMO pathway on problematic social media use

Servidio, R, Craig, F, Soraci, P, Boca, S, Pisanti, R, Demetrovics, Z and Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, 2025. Loneliness moderates the predictive effect of the trait-state FoMO pathway on problematic social media use. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 21: 100612. ISSN 2352-8532

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Abstract

Fear of missing out (FoMO) and loneliness have been identified as significant contributors to problematic social media use (PSMU). However, no prior research has examined the interplay between trait FoMO, state FoMO, the moderating role of loneliness, and their combined influence on PSMU within a unified model. The present study addressed this gap by testing a moderated-mediation model to investigate how trait FoMO, state FoMO, and loneliness jointly impact PSMU. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 356 participants (55.6 % female; Mage = 21.7 years, SDage = 3.55) who completed the Trait-FoMO Scale, State-FoMO Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale (Short Version), and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. The results showed that females scored higher for PSMU than males, while age had no significant effect. Moderated-mediation analyses indicated that both trait-FoMO and state-FoMO were positively associated with PSMU. Moreover, state-FoMO partially mediated the relationship between trait-FoMO and PSMU, with loneliness moderating this pathway. More specifically, the association between trait-FoMO and state-FoMO was weaker at higher levels of loneliness but stronger when loneliness levels were low. These findings highlight FoMO as a major risk factor for PSMU, as well as emphasizing the importance of addressing loneliness in prevention and intervention efforts. This integrated model provides valuable insights for designing targeted strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of FoMO and loneliness on social media use.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Addictive Behaviors Reports
Creators:	Servidio, R., Craig, F., Soraci, P., Boca, S., Pisanti, R., Demetrovics, Z. and Griffiths, M.D.
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date:	June 2025
Volume:	21
ISSN:	2352-8532
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100612 DOI 2429186 Other
Rights:	© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	23 Apr 2025 10:23
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2025 10:23
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53438

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