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The Relationship Between Social Media Use, Personality Traits and FOMO ...Abstract

The main objective of the present study is to examine how the big-five personality traits and use of social media affect the levels of FOMO among individuals. The study involved a random sampling of 25 groups of students enrolled for PSYU3332 and PSYX3332 courses at the University. The data was collected by closed-ended questionnaires that were analysed to examine various correlations between personality traits and FOMO. The results showed that neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness were linked to social media use and addiction. Consequently, the participants had higher levels of FOMO. No significant correlations were observed in openness and conscientiousness and their relationship with FOMO.  In summary, personality traits are affected by FOMO, and models should be developed to quantify levels of FOMO among participants accurately. Additionally, there should be a clear distinction between qualitative and frequent use of social media by certain personality traits.

Keywords: FOMO, personality traits, correlations and use of social media

The Relationship Between Social Media Use, Personality Traits and FOMO

Fear of missing out (FOMO) refers to extensive anxiety possessed by individuals that others may experience better conditions or treatment in their absence. FOMO acts as a motivation to human beings by determining social relationships, autonomy and competition. It is based on individuals' affection and mental experiences depending on the gap between current experience and their immediate social-environmental experience (Stead & Bibby, 2017). FOMO influences negative feelings such as anger, rage and disgust among individuals and consequently their social interactions.

A study by Jordan et al. (2011) suggests that individuals often underestimate negative emotions and overestimate positive emotions experienced by others compared to their feelings. Individuals often perceive others as having a better emotional feeling than themselves; for instance, an online version of an individual on social media such as Facebook is edited and polarised towards positive emotions. Hence, individuals misperceive them to be happy and more successful. Consequently, a higher degree of FOMO leads to greater anxiety and low self-esteem.

A study by Przybylski et al. (2013) suggests that FOMO increases social media interactions among teenagers and young adults. Hence, individuals who frequently utilised their mobile phones when performing various activities or in a classroom tend to have a higher degree of FOMO. It may be linked to the self-determination theory, where an individual seeks to meet their psychological needs such as competition, autonomy and social relationships. Similarly, a study by Alt (2015) suggests that extrinsic motivation is directly proportional to the amount of social media use and the degree of FOMO possessed by an individual. FOMO likely influences the utilisation of smartphones, tablets and consequently social media. Therefore, there is a positive relationship between social media, FOMO and personality traits.

Stead & Bibby (2017) suggest that extroverts utilise social media to boost their social value compared to introverts who use it for social compensation and inability to find friends offline. However, the growth and development of social media have altered different personality traits and suggests that introversion and neuroticism are linked with heavy social media since they avoid social interactions, hence, the fear of being left out. Their confidence increases with an increase in their amount of virtual company. Similarly, Blackwell et al. (2017) suggest that extroverts and neuroticism are addicted to social media and positively correlate with their personality. The utilisation of social media gives them reassurance and confidence when communicating with others. Additionally, attachment style influences the personality trait and the use of social media.

The present study seeks to develop and examine the reliability and validity of a self-report measure of FOMO. First, it was hypothesised that there would be significant correlations between FOMO scores and personality trait scores. Second, there is an internal consistency in the FOMO scores. Lastly, there is a significant correlation between the derived FOMO scores (new measure) and the established FOMO scores.

Methodology

Participants

The study involved 25 groups of participants drawn from the representative sample. Twenty-four groups were on-campus and one OUA class. Participants were students enrolled in the PSYU3332 and PSYX3332 courses

Materials and Procedure

In the first part, every student was requested to suggest an item relating to FOMO; these items were then reviewed by the unit convenor and compiled into a single measure. Similar suggestions were excluded from the measures. The participants completed the playfulness measure through a Qualtrics link whose link was available on iLearn from 5 pm Friday 12^th March to 10 am on Monday 15^th March. The survey also consisted of an established measure of FOMO of 10-item FOMO scale adapted from Przybylski et al. (2013), personality traits adapted from Goldberg (1992) and a question regarding the use of social media. The unit convenor analysed the data to obtain summary statistics of reliability and validity for the second part.

In the second section, a scale was developed for measuring FOMO. The participants developed items used to construct the FOMO by submitting five items to be included in the measure. The unit convenor reviewed these items and included them based on the following guidelines: items that tapped the FOMO construct, items that were worded similarly were not chosen, and one item was chosen from every group of students. The final measure was completed by one group of students on a single occasion through the Qualtrics survey. The participants also completed a normative sample and norms involving individuals who undertook the test. Norms were the standards obtained from the normative sample against which the other scores were compared to obtain accurate results.

Design and Statistical Analysis

The raw scores were converted for easy comparison with the norms, including the percentiles and standard scores. The data was then collected and analysed by SPSS version 26 by performing the following analyses. Descriptive statistics for the Scale's Norms, bivariate correlation analyses between new FOMO scores and the scores on the existing measure of FOMO. Additionally, correlation analyses were performed between the scores on the new measure of FOMO and personality traits of extraversion, openness and agreeableness. Lastly, the validity coefficients were also obtained.

Results

The internal consistency scores on the new measure of FOMO have a coefficient alpha of 0.96, which was higher than the acceptable reliability of 0.8, suggesting internal consistency in the FOMO scores. There was a positive correlation between the scores on the new measure of FOMO and scores on the existing measure of FOMO . Therefore, the convergent validity was supported. Lastly, the findings of convergent validity showed significant correlations between FOMO scores and personality traits such as neuroticism , extraversion , and social media use . However, there were no significant correlations between FOMO scores and openness , agreeableness  and conscientiousness .

Discussion and Analysis

The present study suggests internal consistency scores on the new measure of FOMO; hence the second alternate hypothesis was accepted. The new measure of FOMO is analogous to the existing measure of FOMO used by Blackwell et al. (2017). They suggested a similar pattern of FOMO scores and the personality traits such as neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Additionally, they suggested that extraversion is heavily linked with social media use among individuals. It can be argued that extroverted individuals utilise social media to satisfy their desires for social interactions, and hence, they become addicted to social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. The present study replicated these findings by suggesting that there are positive correlations between FOMO scores and personality trait scores; hence the first alternate hypothesis was accepted.

In support of the first alternate hypothesis, the present study suggests that neuroticism can be used as a predictor of social media use among participants. Higher levels of neuroticism are associated with anxiety and fear regarding social interactions and maintaining long-term relationships. Therefore, these individuals have a greater tendency to the attachment to social media to address insecurity issues associated with their relationships.

The present study suggests significant correlations between FOMO and social media use; hence the third alternate hypothesis was supported. These findings were consistent with Przybylski et al. (2013), who examined positive correlations between social media and FOMO. Therefore, FOMO may be used to predict personality traits and addiction to social media. The new measure of FOMO was similar to the existing measures of FOMO suggested by previous research. These findings were replicated in a study by Stead & Bibby (2017), who suggested that extraversion and neuroticism are positively correlated with FOMO. However, conscientiousness had a negative correlation with FOMO. Neuroticism is likely associated with emotional instability and nervousness among individuals, creating social anxiety, which leads to FOMO.

Individuals high in conscientiousness are highly driven and engage in social interactions. Additionally, they have excellent organisational and social skills; hence, they have greater FOMO levels. It can be argued that neuroticism, openness and extroversion are significant predictors of social media use and addiction. Introverted and neurotic persons spend much of their time and invest in social media. Hence, these traits positively correlate with FOMO, suggesting that FOMO is a predictor of social media (Stead & Bibby, 2017).

Human behaviour concerning social interactions, online gaming and sporting activities influences the levels of FOMO among individuals. Less satisfied individuals in terms of efficacy, self-independence and social connections are positively correlated with higher levels of FOMO. Additionally, FOMO is highly associated with past negative experiences in an individual's life, mood and emotional states (Przybylski et al., 2013).

Limitations and further research

The study examined correlations between various personality traits and FOMO; despite the large sample size, all participants were drawn from Psychology courses which could have created biasness in completing the relevant questionnaires during the survey. Additionally, the study had a limited timeframe for completing the questionnaire, which produced a lower response rate among participants. The utilisation of closed-ended questionnaires restricted responses and the range of scores.

Further research should provide adequate time to ensure the questionnaires are adequately filled and completed by all participants. Further research should examine differences in the quality of social media usage and how frequently individuals use it. Lastly, the present study focused mainly on students (young adults); it is unclear whether similar patterns would be replicated for adults. Therefore, further research should consider age gaps and how adults are influenced by social media and their levels of FOMO.

Conclusion

The main objectives were achieved, and the alternate hypotheses were accepted. The present study replicated the findings of previous researchers and suggested that neuroticism, extroversion, social media use and agreeableness have significant correlations with levels of FOMO. However, no significant correlations were observed in traits such as openness and conscientiousness with levels of FOMO. In summary, FOMO can be quantified and measured among individuals since it increases with an increase in social media platforms where individuals can interact and share information. Therefore, the present study contributes to the vast literature about personality traits and levels of FOMO among young adults..

References

Blackwell, D., Leaman, C., Tramposch, R., Osborne, C., & Liss, M. (2017). Extraversion, neuroticism, attachment style and fear of missing out as predictors of social media use and addiction. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 69-72.

Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological assessment, 4(1), 26.

Jordan, A. H., Monin, B., Dweck, C. S., Lovett, B. J., John, O. P., & Gross, J. J. (2011). Misery has more company than people think: Underestimating the prevalence of others’ negative emotions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(1), 120-135.

Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in human behavior, 29(4), 1841-1848.

Stead, H., & Bibby, P. A. (2017). Personality, fear of missing out and problematic internet use and their relationship to subjective well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 76, 534-540.

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