Understanding daily problematic social media use of young adults: the role of trait- and state-fear of missing out.

Fear of missing out (FoMO) is strongly associated with problematic social media use (PSMU) in young adults; however, little is known about the different roles of trait-FoMO and state-FoMO in PSMU. This longitudinal study used 9-consecutive-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate the...

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Published in:Psychology & Health Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 864 - 877
Main Authors: Gao, Xuemei, Li, Jiayu, Bai, Xujia, Zhou, Yuhong, Jiang, Xintong
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jun2026
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jun2026
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        10.1080/08870446.2025.2491588
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        atl: Understanding daily problematic social media use of young adults: the role of trait- and state-fear of missing out.
      aug:
        au:
          Gao, Xuemei
          Li, Jiayu
          Bai, Xujia
          Zhou, Yuhong
          Jiang, Xintong
        affil: Psychological Research and Consultation Center, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
      sug:
        subj:
          Students, College Psychosocial Factors
          Internet Addiction Evaluation
          Social Media
          Fear
          Personality
          Adolescent Behavior
          Human
          China
          Funding Source
          Male
          Female
          Young Adult
          Prospective Studies
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Analysis of Variance
          Odds Ratio
          Confidence Intervals
          Craving
          Emotional Regulation
          Scales
          Questionnaires
          Male
          Female
      ab: Fear of missing out (FoMO) is strongly associated with problematic social media use (PSMU) in young adults; however, little is known about the different roles of trait-FoMO and state-FoMO in PSMU. This longitudinal study used 9-consecutive-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate the momentary association between state-FoMO and PSMU and to determine whether such association is moderated by trait-FoMO. We used EMA to measure three daily social media use variables (i.e. craving, time spent on social media, and daily social media self-control failure) to determine daily PSMU. 129 female undergraduates (Mage = 20.48, SD = 1.47) completed a total of 4290 EMA surveys. All main variables were significantly and positively correlated with each other at baseline. Multilevel models revealed that the association of momentary state-FoMO with PSMU was significantly positive. Furthermore, trait-FoMO only moderated the positive association between daily state-FoMO and craving. Specifically, trait-FoMO enhanced the influence of daily state-FoMO on craving, and individuals with lower state-FoMO were more susceptible to the effects of trait-FoMO than individuals with higher state-FoMO. Different implications of trait-FoMO and state-FoMO are discussed particularly regarding their potential to increase the risk of young adult PSMU.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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