Mediating Roles of Fear of Missing Out and Boredom Proneness on Psychological Distress and Social Media Addiction Among Indian Adolescents

Objective The closure of schools and other educational institutes around the world has been one of the consequences of the COVID-19 and has resulted in online teaching. To facilitate online teaching, there has been an increase in the use of smartphones and tablets among adolescents. However, such en...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of technology in behavioral science 2023-06, Vol.9 (2), p.224-234
Main Authors: Malik, Lipika, Shahnawaz, Md Ghazi, Rehman, Usama, Pragyendu, Uniyal, Ritika, Griffiths, Mark D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
Anxiety
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Coping
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Emotions
Internet
Mental depression
Mental health
Pandemics
Psychiatry
Psychology
Psychopathology
Self esteem
Smartphones
Social networks
Social Work and Community Development
Stress
Teenagers
User behavior
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Summary:Objective The closure of schools and other educational institutes around the world has been one of the consequences of the COVID-19 and has resulted in online teaching. To facilitate online teaching, there has been an increase in the use of smartphones and tablets among adolescents. However, such enhancement in technology use may put many adolescents at the risk of problematic use of social media. Consequently, the present study explored the direct relationship of psychological distress with social media addiction. The relationship between the two was also assessed indirectly via the fear of missing out (FoMO) and boredom proneness. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 505 Indian adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, studying in grades 7 to 12. Standardized tools (with some modifications to suit the context of the present study) were used to collect data. Results The results showed significant positive associations between psychological distress, social media addiction, FoMO, and boredom proneness. Psychological distress was found to be a significant predictor of social media addiction. Moreover, FoMO and boredom proneness partially mediated the relationships between psychological distress and social media addiction. Discussion The present study is the first to provide evidence for the specific pathways of FoMO and boredom proneness in the relationships between psychological distress and social media addiction.
ISSN:2366-5963
2366-5963
DOI:10.1007/s41347-023-00323-4