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The pervasiveness of social media platforms (SMP) has resulted in users experiencing feelings associated with the phenomena of fear of missing out (FoMO) and social media fatigue. However, little is known about how these phenomena relate to and influence the psychological state of SMP users. This is a significant gap as recent literature has emphasized the importance of examining the correlates of both these phenomena. The current study addresses this gap by examining the stimuli of FoMO and its influence on users’ experienced fatigue through a novel pathway that investigates the effect of narcissism (admiration and rivalry) on SMP behaviors of self-disclosure and social comparison. We collected data through a cross-sectional survey on Prolific Academic from 305 adult SMP users in the United States that were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results show that FoMO is stimulated by time cost and anxiety. FoMO also positively influences users’ adoption of narcissistic admiration and rivalry processes, which influence SMP behaviors differently. Interestingly, we found that only social comparison positively influenced fatigue. The findings raise significant implications for theory and practice, particularly for managing negative emotional states while using SMPs and promoting a tempered use of these platforms.
Jabeen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.