The Mediating Role of Phubbing in the Relationship Between Social Media Usage and Fear of Missing Out Among Adults

Abstract

The fast growth of the social media has fundamentally transformed the ways of human communication, causing the human population to be more dependent on mobile devices as opposed to face-to-face communication. This change is linked to various concerns such as phubbing and the fear of missing out (FoMO) that have negative impacts on emotional health and human relations. The current study aimed at exploring the connection between the use of social media, fear of missing out (FOMO), and phubbing in a group of young adults in Pakistan. Further, the research hypothesized the presence of the mediating role of phubbing between social media use and FoMO. The study used a quantitative and cross-sectional design. Measures of social media usage, phubbing, and FoMO were done through the use of standardized instruments. A convenience sample of 300 adults in Rawalpindi was used to collect data, which were analysed using SPSS. The analyses found positive but strong correlations between social media usage, FoMO, and phubbing. Mediation analysis established that phubbing was significantly mediating the association that existed between social media use and FoMO. In addition, educational attainment had a significant impact on those variables as compared to gender or age. The findings are indicative of the importance of developing mindful digital use as a method of reducing FoMO and phubbing. The constraints of the study are a small sampling structure and use of self-reports measures only. The future studies are supposed to research the functions of emotional regulation and coping mechanisms in connection to digital behavior.