Abstract: People vary in their tendencies for making social comparisons – an individual difference known as Social Comparison Orientation (SCO). In the current research, two studies examined the role of SCO as a vulnerability factor in influencing exposure to and reactions to social information that produces a Fear of Missing Out (FoMO). First, using a self-report methodology, Study 1 found that SCO was associated with poorer well-being and related constructs (e.g., self-esteem, belongingness) through a serial mediation pathway involving social media use (mediator 1) and FoMO experiences (mediator 2). Second, using an experimental methodology, participants in Study 2 read hypothetical scenarios following a 2 (Scenario Type: FoMO or control) × 2 (Comparison Direction: upward or downward comparison target) between-participants design. Participants who imagined a friend having more rewarding experiences (FoMO condition) reported poorer well-being (e.g., affect, self-esteem) and greater malicious envy than did participants in a control condition, and this effect was indirect through changes in FoMO perceptions. Further, the influence of the FoMO manipulation on well-being was stronger for participants high in SCO (though the indirect effect involving FoMO perceptions was comparable across levels of SCO), suggesting SCO is a vulnerability factor for how people respond to FoMO experiences. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed in the context of social comparison, social media, and FoMO.
Rose et al. (Wed,) studied this question.