From self-construal to trait- and state-fear of missing out: the roles of need to belong and active social media use

Lihua Zuo, Jian Mao, Lili Yang, Haini Wang, Z Y Xie

Introduction Fear of missing out (FoMO) has become a common psychological experience in the context of widespread social media use. Building on the trait–state FoMO framework, the present study examined how interdependent self-construal is associated with trait- and state-FoMO through need to belong, and whether active social media use moderates these associations. Methods The hypotheses were tested among Chinese college students using a questionnaire survey in Study 1 and a scenario-based experimental design in Study 2. Results The results showed that interdependent self-construal was not robustly or directly associated with trait-FoMO, but was indirectly associated with trait-FoMO through need to belong. In contrast, interdependent self-construal showed a more direct association with state-FoMO and was also indirectly associated with state-FoMO through need to belong. Active social media use attenuated the positive association between need to belong and state-FoMO, whereas this moderating effect was not observed for trait-FoMO. Discussion This study provides preliminary evidence for the combined roles of individual psychological factors and social media behaviors in FoMO. It contributes to clarifying the differences between trait- and state-FoMO and offers important implications for reducing FoMO while preserving its psychosocial functions.