Fear of Missing Out and Social Media Addiction among youth in Pakistan: a cross-sectional analysis
Keywords:
Behavior, Addictive, Internet Addiction Disorder, Technology Addiction, Adolescent, Adolescent BahaviorAbstract
Background: In contemporary society, social media assumes a pivotal function in our daily lives. Its frequent and daily use is giving rise to what we call “Social Media Addiction” (SMA). The usage of online networking platforms on a regular and frequent basis is really predicted by the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO). The youth’s frequent usage of social media has recently grown to be a serious problem.
Objectives: To determine the association between Fear of Missing Out and Social Media Addiction among a sample of the youth of Pakistan through use of validated scales.
Materials & Methods: A cross sectional online survey was conducted from June 1, 2022, to August 25, 2022, on 400 respondents from all over Pakistan between the ages of 18 and 30 years who were enrolled through non-probability convenient sampling technique. The questionnaire was disseminated electronically via WhatsApp, Facebook, and other media platforms and included information on demographics, FoMO, and Bergen SMA scale. Data were analyzed for descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Correlation by SPSS 22, with p≤0.05 indicating significance.
Results: Of the 400 participants, 256(64%) were women and 144(36%), men, with a mean age of 21 ± 3.1 years. The mean score for Bergen Social Media Addiction scale was 17.35 ± 5.395, while the mean score of FoMO was 21.66 ± 5.956. To assess the validity and reliability of the addiction and FoMO scales, Cronbach’s Alpha was calculated. Originally, Cronbach’s Alpha was rated as 0.87-0.90, but in the current analysis, it was observed to be 0.770. Originally, Cronbach’s Alpha for Bergen Social Media Addiction was 0.88, while in the current study, it was 0.797. Social Media Addiction and FoMO were found to have a moderately positive linear association (r=0.532, p<0.001).
Conclusion: After establishing the reliability and validity of both measures, the present study also found a significant positive correlation between the Fear of Missing Out and Social Media Addiction scales.
