关键词: 错失恐惧, 自我损耗, 关系型自我构念, 社交网站成瘾

Abstract: The use of social networking sites (SNSs) has increased dramatically over the last few years. As of December 2018, the number of Wechat users in China reached 691 million, which was the most popular SNS in China. Whereas SNSs use may be entertaining and provide opportunities to interact with friends, excessive use can lead to SNSs addiction and associated problems such as depression and insomnia. Prior studies have investigated the relationship between fear of missing out (FoMO) and SNSs addiction based on the Uses and Gratification theory. The present study has taken anther theoretical perspective by adopting the Limited Resource Model of Self-Control (LRMSC). According to the LRMSC, FoMO may increase the risk for SNSs addiction by increasing ego depletion; that is, FoMO may lead to ego depletion, which in turn would predict SNSs addiction. Furthermore, individual differences in relational-interdependent self-construal (RISC) may moderate this mediation process, in that high RISC individuals may be more vulnerable to ego depletion than low RISC individuals. In sum, we proposed a moderated mediation model to account for SNSs addiction. Specifically, we tested the relationship between FoMO and SNSs addiction, the mediating effect of ego depletion, and the moderating effect of RISC, in a sample of college students. The participants of this study were 526 college students (mean age = 19.56 years, SD = 0.87 year; 253 males, 273 females) who had been using SNSs everyday. The participants completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Fear of Missing Out Scale, Self-Control Resource Depletion Scale, Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal Scale, and SNS Addiction Scale. The proposed moderated mediation model was tested using regression analysis and the PROCESS macro. Previous studies have suggested that SNSs addiction may differ by gender. Hence, the effect of gender was controlled in all analyses. Results showed that: (1) FoMO positively predicted SNSs addiction in college students. (2) Ego depletion partially mediated this association. (3) This mediating effect was moderated by RISC, in that it was stronger for students with high RISC than for those with low RISC. The present study is the first to demonstrate the detrimental impact of FoMO and the moderated mediation effect of ego depletion and RISC on SNSs addiction based on the LRMSC. Scholars used to explain the process of SNSs addiction formation from the Uses and Gratification theory, few studies adopt the LRMSC. Our findings provide further evidence of FoMO in the risk for SNSs addiction and the central role of ego depletion as an impulsive control disorder in the association. Therefore, the LRMSC provided an ideal theoretical direction for the study of SNSs addiction, and future research could further examine whether there were other factors that influence SNSs addiction by ego depletion. Our findings also have potential applied value with regard to SNSs addiction in college students. Firstly, FoMO originated from dissatisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence. Satisfy college students’ basic psychological needs could reduce their FoMO and risk for SNSs addiction. Secondly, it is reasonable to recovery individuals’ self-control resources and abilities to avert SNSs addiction. Thirdly, it is better to pay more attention to those college students with high RISC involved FoMO and SNSs addiction.

Key words: fear of missing out, ego depletion, relational-interdependent self-construal, social networking sites addiction