The relationship between fear of missing out, mindfulness, and social media usage among adolescence

Adolescence is the period of identity formation and of developing social relationships. So, the use of social media is significantly more as it’s a platform to connect with people. However, it contributes to a tendency to compare themselves with others. This social comparison can lead to a fear of missing out. Fear of missing out is a “persuasive apprehension that others might be having a rewarding experience from which one is absent”. On the other hand, mindfulness is described as being in the present moment. Therefore, mindfulness may reduce the fear of missing out and consequently, social media usage. The main objective of the study is to determine whether there is a significant relationship between fear of missing out, mindfulness, and social media usage among adolescence. This study also examines whether there is a gender difference in social media usage, fear of missing out, and mindfulness among adolescents. The review of previous studies shows that no researches were done connecting mindfulness, fear of missing out, and social media usage. Hence, the researcher has chosen this topic. A total of 120 adolescents of age 12 -23 who use social media were assessed for this study. Social media addiction scale-student form was used to measure social media usage. The fear of missing out was measured using the Fear of missing out scale. To measure mindfulness, the Mindful attention awareness scale was used. For testing the hypothesis, inferential statistics of correlation and t-test were done. Findings revealed that there is a significant positive correlation between fear of missing out and social media usage and a negative correlation between mindfulness and social media usage. There was no significant relationship between the fear of missing out and mindfulness. No significant difference in fear of missing out, social media usage, and mindfulness were found among the two genders. The result of this study can helps us to understand and address the causes and consequences of social media addiction among adolescents.