Fear of Missing Out or Social Avoidance? The Relationship Between Peer Exclusion and Problematic Social Media Use Among Adolescents

Dou Kai; Li Yanyu; Wang Linxin; Nie Yangang

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230507

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5) : 1081-1089. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230507

Fear of Missing Out or Social Avoidance? The Relationship Between Peer Exclusion and Problematic Social Media Use Among Adolescents

Dou Kai, Li Yanyu, Wang Linxin, Nie Yangang

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Abstract

With the rapid development of Internet and the widespread utilization of smartphones, the popularity of social media platforms among adolescents has risen and concerns on adolescents' social media use are rising among schools and families. Problematic social media use (PSMU) refers to an unhealthy and excessive way of social media use, characterized by additive-like and uncontrollable social media use behavior. PSMU has been related to negative life consequences such as low academic achievements, poor sleep quality, and mental health issues. Therefore, understanding the risk factors of PSMU and the underlying mechanism has garnered significant attention from scientists around the world. Previous studies on PSMU mainly focused on the predicting role of individual factors. It is still unknown whether and how peer environment influences PSMU among adolescents. Peer exclusion, a vital negative peer environment indicator, may act as a risk factor in increasing adolescents' PSMU. Adolescents who are socially excluded by their peers may seek compensation from internet because of different social motivations. Therefore, the present study investigated the predicting role of peer exclusion on PSMU and its underlying process by distinguishing between social approaching motivation (i.e., fear of missing out) and social avoiding motivation (i.e., social avoidance). Moreover, little is known about the regional differences of these associations. To address these hypotheses, we constructed an “approaching-avoiding” parallel-path model and recruited participants from both Guangzhou and Macao.
A total of 965 adolescents (M_age = 12.78 years old, SD = 2.45 years old; 52% are male) from Guangzhou (n = 749) and Macao (n = 216) participated in this study. Participants anonymously completed the Peer Exclusion Scale, the Fear of Missing Out Scale, the Social and Avoidance Scale, and the Problematic Social Media Use Scale. Meanwhile, demographic information, including gender, age, grade, and parental educational level, was also collected. The results showed that: (1) Adolescents who reported higher levels of peer exclusion displayed higher levels of PSMU; (2) The indirect effect of fear of missing out as a mediator between peer exclusion and PSMU was positive and significant and was consistent across both Guangzhou and Macao; (3) The indirect effect of social avoidance as a mediator between peer exclusion and PSMU was only significant among adolescents in Guangzhou. Furthermore, among the total indirect effects of mediators, the indirect effect of fear of missing out was found to be stronger than that of social avoidance.
In conclusion, the current study sheds light on the impact of peer exclusion, a core detrimental environmental factor, on PSMU among adolescents. Results indicated that peer exclusion may increase adolescents' PSMU through fear of missing out and social avoidance, with differences noted between adolescents in Guangzhou and Macao. These findings contribute to the existing literature on the compensatory Internet use theory and the Multi-motive Model, and further our understandings of the psychological mechanism between peer exclusion and PSMU. Moreover, this research has practical significance for decreasing adolescents' PSMU and highlights the importance of peer environment. Findings suggest that intervening on peer exclusion might be promising to reduce adolescents' PSMU and additional attention should be paid to the regional difference between Guangzhou and Macao.

Key words

peer exclusion / fear of missing out / social avoidance / social media use / Guangzhou and Macao adolescents

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Dou Kai, Li Yanyu, Wang Linxin, Nie Yangang. Fear of Missing Out or Social Avoidance? The Relationship Between Peer Exclusion and Problematic Social Media Use Among Adolescents[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2023, 46(5): 1081-1089 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230507

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