SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT AND ONLINE FEAR OF MISSING OUT AS PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING AND DISTRESS AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

The current research was designed to investigate both the individual and combined role of social media engagement (SME) with online fear of missing out (ON-FoMO) on psychological wellbeing and distress among adolescents (grade 9 to 12) from Peshawar city. Adolescent students (N = 220; Female = 145, 65.91% and male = 75, 34.1%), with age group ranging from 13 to 18, enrolled in government (n = 66, 30%) and private (n = 154, 70%) sector schools were studied. Higher number of the participants lived in nuclear (n = 145, 65.9%) but some lived in joint (n = 75, 34.1%) family system. A large number of participants used social media for more than 5 hours (n = 75, 34.1%), with Instagram (n = 82, 37.3%) being the most used platform. The participants used social media mostly for entertainment (n = 126, 57. 3%), though some used it for educational purpose (n = 29, 13.2%). Social media engagement on its own was found to have non-significant (p = .85, R2 = .00) relation with psychological wellbeing. Regression model of SME and ON-FoMO with psychological wellbeing was significant (p < .001). However, SME significantly predicted (p = .007, B = -0.34) lower psychological wellbeing, whereas, ON-FoMO predicted higher psychological wellbeing (p < .001, B = 0.46). On the other hand, regression model of SME and ON-FoMO with psychological distress was significant (p < .001). Furthermore, SME did not significantly (p = .573) predict psychological distress, while, ON-FoMO significantly predicted (p < .001) psychological distress. Hence, study concluded that the impact of social media engagement and online fear of missing out on adolescents is not on a single linear spectrum, but its influence is determined by the fact that whether they are analyzed in isolation or collectively.