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Gender-Differences-and-Social-Comparison-Orientation-on-the-Relationship-between-Fear-of-Missing-Out-Social-Media-Engagement-and-Psychological-Well-Being-of-College-Students-A-Mediation-and-Moderation-Analysis
Gender-Differences-and-Social-Comparison-Orientation-on-the-Relationship-between-Fear-of-Missing-Out-Social-Media-Engagement-and-Psychological-Well-Being-of-College-Students-A-Mediation-and-Moderation-Analysis
By
Reyes, Vanessa
Ullega, Jenevalyn
Villegas, Shanelle
A Thesis
submitted to
Department of Psychology
2022
2
Table of Contents
Title Page
Introduction……………………………………………….…………………………………… 4
Literature Review…………………………………………………………...…….……………10
Psychological Well-being
Gender Differences
Synthesis
Hypothesis………………..……………………………………………………………....…… 46
Definition of Terms………………………….……………..…………………………………48
Method………………………….………………………………….…………………………49
Research Design
Sample
Instrument
Procedure
Data Analysis
Preliminary Analysis
Main Analysis
Ethical Considerations
Conflict of Interest
Plagiarism
Research Misconduct
Reference………………………….……………………………….…………………………61
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Introduction
Most lifetime mental problems begin during youth, and the years in college, as the
concluding stage of adolescence in a broad sense, demand special consideration in this regard.
Undergraduate students' psychological well-being can influence not only their academic and
professional achievement but also the development of society as a whole (Liu et al., 2019).
College is a critical time in a student's life for developing suitable values, worldviews, life
outlooks, and resilience (Ramsay et al., 2015). In certain circumstances, this is considered the
ultimate stage of adolescence. Adolescence is the period of life between childhood and
adulthood. Rather than referring to the 10–19 age group, a definition of adolescence as 10–24
years old aligns more closely with public perceptions of this life stage (Sawyer et al., 2018).
College students' perspectives influence not only their academic performance in school but also
their future adaptation to the profession and society. Due to this, it is important to know what
College students are at the forefront in terms of mobile phone use, they use their phones
for a great deal of time, either for work or for fun. The prevalence of smartphone addiction
among regular college students has been estimated to be between 24.8 and 27.4%. The students
defended their continued use of mobile phones for leisure, social academic needs and access to
information. Students could feel cut off from real-world social interactions in the digital realm
and long for connections that are different from those they have. Social media can offer a
platform for self-expression and self-presentation in this society; because of that, students are
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becoming more cautious about how they will show themselves. With the different problems that
come with adjusting to college life, students may experience additional anguish due to changes
in their social roles and emotional distance from others. Consequently, prolonged use of mobile
phones may prompt students to be overly concerned with the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of
One factor that somehow influences psychological well-being is the use of social media.
A study found that there is a connection between psychological distress and internet addiction
(Elhai et al., 2021). Social media engagement has grown in recent years between 2004 and 2006,
social networking sites saw a surge in popularity due to the creation of social media platforms
such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These social media platforms have millions of users
and are still constantly growing; 85% of the one million users are undergraduate students
(Karaaslan et al., 2021). Younger generations use social media platforms to stay up to date on the
lives of their friends and relatives, to meet new people, and for entertainment. However, social
media usage would result in people feeling compelled to share the best aspects of themselves
with others, seeking to impress others, having the desire for other people's acceptance, and
having the fear of missing out. An individual with fear of missing out is constantly checking
their phone to keep updated on other people's lives and perceives that others have better
experiences and achievements in life. This way of thinking will result in social comparison
orientation.
very significant personality feature (Yang, 2016). Personality features are reflections of a
6
person's distinctive thoughts, feelings, and behavior. However, social comparison orientation can
affect individuals' feelings, characteristics, thoughts and behavior. According to different experts,
social comparison and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) were linked to positive and negative
psychological consequences (Hampton et al., 2015; Reed, 2020). The frequent use of social
media can provide individuals with entertainment to lessen stress and overcome distance and
time, allowing them to connect and reconnect with their closest friends and relatives (Hampton et
al., 2015).
Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) has another benefit on individuals' psychological well-
being. When an individual sees someone else having a great time and living their best life, it
might give them hope that they can do the same, by being inspired by others' achievements it can
help them push to do better. Recent research indicates other benefits of social comparison
positive effects on psychological health of individuals. Using social media applications could
cause them to have a positive emotional reaction to other people's online self-presentations and
can positively impact a variety of emotions such as sympathy, optimism, and inspiration (Meier
& Schäfer, 2018; Park & Baek, 2018). However, several studies stated that social comparison
increase as social media platforms improve, making them more interactive and addicting. The
excessive use of social media could also result in anxiety and depression in some individuals (Ho
et al., 2017; Oberst et al., 2017). Individuals that scroll through social media and see other
individuals' achievements and experiences in life, might compare themself, which may increase
envy, unsatisfied with their lifestyle and low self-esteem (Oberst et al., 2017; Pontes, 2017).
When they see the posts of other people on social media and idealize other individuals' status in
life (Burnell et al., 2019; Ozimek et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018).
psychological well-being. Social media has had several negative effects on its users over time.
Entirely accurate, social media sites have been and will continue to be useful, especially now that
having a smartphone and internet access is considered a necessity and means of communication.
However, every benefit has a drawback, and one of the difficulties that are frequently associated
with social media engagement is its impact on one's psychological well-being. Some studies look
at the social comparison, fear of missing out, and gender differences. It was claimed that those
variables had a significant association in terms of their influence on mental well-being, which
The previous study states that age and gender stages are other elements besides social
media that also influence psychological well-being (Huppert, 2009). According to a survey
conducted in the Philippines, 86% of respondents aged 18 to 24 and 14% of those aged 55 and
over use social media applications (Statista Research Development, 2021). As of March 2019,
statisticians concluded that women use social media apps more often than men (Statista Research
Development, 2021). Multiple studies have found that social media usage is strongly linked to
psychological well-being (Robinson & Smith, 2022). Both genders may experience the
sensations of fear, anxiety, and worry and find it challenging to manage their environment,
develop stronger relations with others, and accept themselves (Beyens et al., 2016). It also
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indicated certain studies that most individuals in adulthood experience depression more than
older people (Yeung, 2017). However, it was concluded that women are more prone to develop
mental problems because they are likely to have lower psychological well-being than men
communication, which is intrinsically more psychologically gratifying (Pitman & Reich, 2016).
It has been hypothesized that social media use negatively affects adults who are developing a
sense of self-worth, especially those who are more exposed to and more reliant on social
comparisons. However, according to a previous study, social media use in adulthood does not
necessarily harm or interfere with development (Biorsen, 2018). The impact depends on a variety
of factors, such as the user’s needs and personality traits, the development of peer group norms
and changes in those norms, the degree to which social media is integrated into different
contexts, such as education, and the kinds of experiences emerging adults have with using social
In terms of association factors, the current study has some similarities with previous
studies. The current study distinguishes itself by emphasizing gender differences and aims to
determine the difference between results obtained in a Southern country, specifically the
Philippines, and results obtained in Western countries. Several local studies predict a link
between social media engagement, fear of missing out, and social comparison orientation and
psychological well-being. However, the majority of local studies’ subjects were students in
general, and the relationships between these variables were tested. Due to the inconsistency in
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the results, there is a need for further research into gender differences in social media
engagement, fear of missing out, social media comparison, and who among them experienced
low psychological well-being in the local setting. In lieu of this, the current study hypothesized
that social media engagement and fear of missing out have a direct impact on the psychological
well-being of selected college students. Gender has a moderating effect, and social comparison
Literature Review
This chapter provides a comprehensive and in-depth overview of the current research.
This chapter's related literature covers a wide range of concepts, evidences, suppositions,
findings, and knowledge based relevant to the current study. These studies provide a foundation
The anxiety or worry associated with missing out on events or things like social
gatherings, activities, the latest rumors or headlines is known as "Fear of Missing Out" or
abbreviated as FoMO. These tendencies may lead to inferiority complexes. The urge to be
constantly online and updated to friends' posts leads FoMO to be an alarming issue, particularly
for young people. Based on statistics, about 56% of individuals experiencing FoMO are ages 18
to 30 and 45% of individuals who experience FoMO can't resist for longer than 12 hours without
checking social media (Ouellette, 2019). A recent study in Turkey investigated Nomophobia, or
the fear of not having a mobile phone. This study correlated Nomophobia with Fear of Missing
Out. Based on their findings, they discovered a positive moderate level of relationship between
Nomophobia and FoMO. This demonstrates that there is a tendency to experience fear of missing
out on communication via mobile phone, which leads to problematic use of social networking
sites (Gezgin et al., 2018). This is relevant to the current study and since, similar to the variable
investigated, Fear of Missing Out, this study confirms that this phenomenon is definitely
alarming among college students, a habit or behavior that is difficult to break, especially given
the trend and norm in society. This study differs from the current study in that it emphasizes
Nomophobia; however, this study validates the issue of Fear of Missing Out.
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Another recent FoMO statistic revealed that the majority of the emotions associated with
FoMO are negative: 39% typically feel envious, 30% reported feeling jealous, 21% reported
feeling sad or disappointed, and only 29% reported feeling good (Hott, 2022). A study of 704
Chinese adolescents emphasized the moderating role of need to belong and the mediating role of
envy between social media addiction and fear of missing out. Envy was found to be a significant
mediator in this study, and it was stronger for adolescents with higher levels of need to belong
(Yin et al., 2021). The mechanisms that moderate the mediated paths between social media
addiction and FoMO were confirmed in this study. This is significant in the current study, this
supports the fact that envy and a need for belonging are linked to FoMO, which is similar to the
current study in terms of social comparison tendencies. There are also differences; the current
study is looking into the emotional aspects of FoMO, such as feeling jealous, sad or
Envy caused by a fear of missing out on social media can be linked to a person's self-
esteem. Envy, which is generally regarded as a form of anxiety, is defined as a constant fear that
others are having pleasurable experiences that one is missing, which may affect an individual's
self-esteem. The main component and internal cognitive tendencies of FoMO is a strong desire
to know what other people are doing or have that is updated or new, so it would encourage
people to engage in social media frequently to avoid missing important information or trends.
This urges the social media users having fear of missing out to desire those things they don’t
have which triggers dissatisfaction in life. A recent study conducted to 277 Italian university
students, which emphasized the mediating role of fear of missing out and self-esteem between
social media and maximization. Based on their findings this study confirmed that individuals
having higher FoMO experience have a tendency to have low self-esteem (Servidio, 2021). This
12
study is significant in the current study in terms of linking the tendencies of social comparison,
however emphasizing the other factors of the variable Fear of Missing Out which is self-esteem
and envy, which is the difference in the objective of the current study. This study supported the
current study in terms of confirming the alarming tendencies of fear of missing out occurring in
Another study argued that Fear of missing out (FoMO) not just affects self-esteem but also
triggers psychological distress and loneliness due to excessive checking on social media.
Adolescents who experienced a lot of psychological distress and loneliness were more likely to
experience strong FoMO due to a lack of social skills (Oberst et al., 2017). A recent study
gathered 552 youths aged 17 to 28 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic investigated
boredom proneness and fear of missing out as mediators between psychological distress and
Internet addiction. According to their findings, the rate of internet addiction in young adults was
28.1%, and boredom proneness and fear of missing out played multiple mediating roles in the
relationship between psychological distress and internet addiction (Liang et al., 2022). Another
factor considered and emphasized in this study was boredom, which leads to psychological
distress and reduces social skills, which is linked to loneliness. There are similarities in terms of
the variable under investigation, which is Fear of Missing Out, but this study differs from the
current study in terms of the moderator and mediator variables under investigation, which are not
social comparison and gender difference used in the current study. A study articulates on the
loneliness tendency of FoMO, which leads to phubbing in most millennials. According to this
study, which included 400 participants from Pakistan, the relationship between loneliness, fear of
missing out, and phubbing behavior among millennials was significantly positive. According to
their findings, fear of missing out has a greater influence on phubbing than loneliness. Phubbing
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is a complex concept that has gained considerable attention in Pakistan (Yaseen et al., 2021).
This shows the variation of the phenomenon differs from country to country, due to this the
current study aimed to fill this gap and conduct it in the Philippines. This study is significant in
the current study considering the other factor of FoMO however, differs in terms of linking it to
phubbing and loneliness. This study is the same in terms of considering the mediation and
Health Sciences Center, has several signs or tendencies that are underemphasized in most
withdraw from others, experiencing being physically tired, feeling sad, anxious, or depressed,
trouble concentrating, and sleeping are all signs of FoMO. Several studies have found that
obsessively checking social media to see what other individuals are doing, experiencing negative
feelings when comparing one's life to what others appear to be doing on social media, and
feeling mentally exhausted from social media are indeed major signs (Temple & Laurence,
2022). The current study aimed to investigate the tendency of comparison due to Fear of Missing
Out, which is assumed to be the major cause of all the signs or tendencies mentioned above, and
constantly connected however leads to negative behavior (Cao et al., 2018; Stead & Bibby,
2017). People with high levels of FoMO enjoy being in contact with others and are attentive to
smartphone notifications, whereas those with low levels of FoMO are more inclined to reject this
temptation (Rozgonjuk et al., 2019). As a result, even though FoMO may increase people's
motivation to improve linked in technology use, this is obscure given that different studies have
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either overemphasized or underemphasized the impact of technology use. FoMO would also
result in an increase in smartphone usage duration, as well as the fear of isolation in its absence
(Chai et al., 2019; Schmidt et al., 2018). Fear of Missing Out is a concerning issue that is
common among people who regularly engage in social media engagement, and they must be
thoroughly investigated. The current study aims to investigate FoMO thoroughly and to fill a
research gap by emphasizing the major factors influencing the reason why individuals have
People are concerned about the negative things that teens can do on social media due to
how quickly it innovates and develops. For constant online connectivity, social media has
emerged as an important aspect of daily life around the world. Social media use is a 21st-century
phenomenon that is rapidly expanding. In the present era, individuals do whatever it takes to stay
up to date on social media to browse profiles and new updates. The lives of teenagers are
constantly mediated. As a result of their constant internet use, digital media users who lack self-
control suffer a variety of negative consequences in their social, psychological and emotional
aspects (Tomczyk, 2021). Nowadays, social networking is more about who we are than what we
do.
Social media are now considered as a way of life (Nazarail & Kasim, 2021; Sheela &
Murthy, 2021). Technology has become an essential part of life for those who were born after
2000, trying to make life without it inconceivable (Baltaci & Ersoz, 2022). Meanwhile, social
media use now covers a number of platforms. Most adolescents are more likely to use YouTube,
which is the most popular online platform among teens according to the Center's new survey,
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with 95% of active teens using it. TikTok comes in second (67%), followed by Instagram and
Snapchat (Vogels et al., 2022). However, most previous studies concentrated solely on one
popular social networking site, Facebook, in terms of emphasizing social media addiction and
engagement duration (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017). A study emphasizes the impact of Instagram on
social comparison and self-esteem based on the general population. This is conducted in
Singapore through an online survey. According to their findings, Instagram use did not
significantly increase social anxiety. Instead, social comparison and self-esteem are intermediate
outcomes of Instagram use that serve as mediators (Jiang & Ngien, 2020). This study is
however, this study focused on the negative side which is on the distress psychologically. This
study only focused on the Instagram application usage however in the current study it
investigates social media in general and did not mention a specific application. This study
supports the current study in confirming the significant relationship of social media, social
comparison as mediator and its impact on the psychological aspect of an individual. Another
study argued the comparison of Facebook and Instagram use affecting the psychological well-
being of 135 social media users in the University Ethics Committee. Based on their findings,
overall, there was a significant main effect of social media platforms on Problematic Social
Media Use, with Instagram users scoring significantly higher than Facebook users. However,
Facebook and Instagram users (Limniou et al., 2022). This study is relative to the current study
in terms of investigating social media applications that are widely used in student social media
users. This confirms that there was no difference in terms of the platform type, all social media
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The psychological and social factors lead to high levels of engagement, since millions of
people use social media tools every day (Baltaci & Ersoz, 2022). Previous studies investigated
the benefits of social media platform use, and claimed that it improves self-esteem, social
support and connection, relationship management, and practical benefits (Phua et al., 2017;
Piwek & Joinson, 2016). However, the disadvantages of excessive internet or social media use
are far more prevalent, affecting a person's psychological health. According to the Pew Research
Center survey of U.S. adults was conducted, roughly 64% believe social media has a mostly
negative impact. Only one out of every ten Americans believes social media sites have a mostly
positive impact on how things are going (Auxier, 2020). There is a connection between
psychological distress and internet addiction, according to earlier studies (Elhai et al., 2021).
Studies on the use and misuse of social media usually adopt a confirmatory technique,
whereby empirical studies concentrate on psychological risk factors that have previously been
shown to contribute to the emergence or maintenance of addiction problems (Griffith & Kuss,
2017). Negative psychosocial media use, especially addiction, can cause symptoms that are
similar to those of drug addiction, such as withdrawal, conflict, and loss of control (Blackwell et
al., 2017; Bloemen & De Coninck, 2020; De Calheiros Velozo & Stauder, 2018; Elhai et al.,
2017; Kuss & Griffiths, 2017; Durak, 2019). The influence of social media on many adolescents'
current lives is enormous. The number of Instagram likes or Facebook friends they have
determines their social status or self-worth. These articles evaluate the connection between the
frequency and duration of use with which adolescents engage on social media and their
psychological well-being. The number of people utilizing social media has grown in the previous
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ten years. Globally, 3.78 billion people use social media today, and by 2025, that number is
expected to rise to 4.41 billion (Dixon, 2022). The phrase "social media engagement" refers to a
broad range of behaviors that indicate and quantify how many audiences engage with the
content. Likes, comments, and shares on Facebook or Instagram are pertained and emphasized in
terms of Social Media Engagement. In today's era, the number of likes, comments and shares on
social media posts are essential as it can be considered as fame or how popular an individual is.
Social media usage has significantly increased in recent years (Kemp, 2021; Leong et al., 2019).
Teenagers' lifestyles are increasingly being regulated. Digital media users who lack self-control
face a number of negative consequences in their social, psychological, and biological life as a
result of their constant internet use (Tomczyk, 2021). Due to the everyday usage of social media
tools by millions of people, studies have increased on investigating the psycho-social factors that
contribute to increased social media engagement. Social media refers to websites and other
online tools that allow people to share their knowledge, opinions, and interests. Engagement is
defined as any interaction by a peer with one's own social media content that demonstrates
interest in what the individual posts and possibly a desire to share or provide feedback. It can
refer to a variety of actions, such as a Facebook share or an Instagram like. Young students
frequently use social media to communicate with their immediate family and friends via
Social connectivity, mental health, sleep quality, peer influence, and family roles have all
been researched in relation to social media engagement (Allen et al., 2014; Bloemen & de
Coninck, 2020; Kelly et al., 2018; Woods & Scott, 2016). A study conducted to 300 Hong Kong
University students, this study investigates the link between social media use, sleep quality, and
psychological distress. According to their findings, the intensity of Internet Gaming and Social
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Media Addiction was linked with psychological distress and sleep disruption. Furthermore, the
frequency of Internet Gaming and Social Media Addiction have associations with various
psychological distress. However, the severity of Social Media Addiction was much more
Adolescent engagement on social media and the desire to keep a strong grip on their
online presence and post regular updates about their personal life have increased as a result of the
expanding usage of social media (Baltaci & Ersoz, 2022). These studies are relevant to the
current study in terms of identifying the various social media applications that are widely used
not only among college students but also in the general population, as well as the severity of their
affecting people's well-being as a result of social media use, which supports the current study's
main goal. These studies conclusively demonstrate that people's use of social media varies by
country and has a different impact on their psychological well-being depending on the content
they are exposed to, with both positive and negative effects visible.
Psychological Well-being
hedonic or enjoyment, pleasure, and eudaimonic or meaning, fulfillment, and happiness, as well
as resilience or coping, emotion regulation, and healthy problem solving (Tang et al., 2019). In a
reviewed study, the following variables were utilized to assess users' psychological well-being:
life satisfaction, interpersonal trust, autonomy, personal growth, self-acceptance, life purpose,
environmental mastery, and positive relatedness. However, there are some negative aspects, such
19
as low life satisfaction, anxiety, and low self-esteem; these are few, but they are prevalent and
A recent study of 210 college students in Central India found that age, physical health,
personality, life experiences, socioeconomic status, and culture all have an impact on
psychological well-being (PWB). This study concluded that people over the age of 20 had better
PWB in all dimensions than people under the age of 20. However, this study suggested the need
for additional research to delve deeper into the concepts and relationships between age and
PWB, as well as to examine the impact that social changes have on age groups and PWB. This
differs from the current study in that this study focuses on age, whereas the current study focuses
on gender differences; however, both of these studies are similar in terms of the variable being
investigated, which is the psychological well-being of college students (Sharma et al., 2022).
As individuals transition from adolescents to young adults, college students have more
freedom to make decisions about life issues than individuals did in high school. Nonetheless, the
college environment has been demonstrated to be stressful. College students are particularly
susceptible to stress (Dyson & Renk, 2006). Chronic stressor exposure may jeopardize those
well-being and is related to the increasing prevalence of mental health problems among students
(Zhang & Zheng, 2017; Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010; Zheng et al., 2015). Another study, gathered
from 131 students at Hong Kong Community College, conducted to evaluate the first-year
constructs are more critical in predicting students' first-year academic performance and, finally,
This study found that students' psychological well-being (PWB), including all six underlying
constructs, decreased significantly during their first year. This study discovered that among all
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six PWB constructs, the change in Purpose in Life played a relatively more important role in
predicting students' first-year Grade - point average (GPA). Furthermore, based on this study the
Purpose in Life acted as a partial mediator in modulating the academic performance development
process between the pre-college and college environments (Lo & Ip, 2021). This study
mastery, personal growth, positive relationships with others, life purpose, and self-acceptance
(Ryff, 1989). The scale used in this study differs from the scale used in the current study in that it
emphasizes happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose,
character and virtue, and close social relationships. This is due to the current study's main
objective, which is to investigate college students' satisfaction as a result of the current study's
mediating variable, social comparison, as well as to emphasize social media engagement and fear
of missing out in relation to the constructs of social relationship, meaning and purpose. This
study is similar to the current study in terms of the investigated variables, which are
emphasized in the current study; however, this may be an underlying factor, due to peers
conforming tendencies in terms of social comparison in social media engagement. Due to the
stress and pressure that college students face, this can be considered an outside factor that leads
students to escape thru social media engagement, which can lead to addiction if used on a regular
basis or may depend on how the media contents impacts the perception of the user.
anxiety and psychological well-being. This means that the more anxious someone is, the worse
their psychological well-being is, and the less anxious they are, the better their psychological
well-being is (Nagaraj, 2017). Self-esteem positively predicts both psychological and subjective
21
well-being. According to the study, 38% of psychological well-being and 25% of subjective
well-being were caused by self-esteem and loneliness. The American Psychological Association
says that having good self-esteem is important for mental health and well-being. High self-
esteem is important, it helps an individual develop coping skills, deal with adversity, and put the
Anxiety and low self-esteem are not the only factors influencing college students'
psychological well-being; discrimination, social inequality, gender inequality, and conflict all
have an impact on an individual's psychological well-being (Rieck & Lundin, 2021). Individuals'
PWB can be influenced positively or negatively by environmental or social factors. A study was
conducted to determine the relationship between psychological and environmental factors and
the well-being of undergraduate university students in Australia. This study took into account
financial resources, physical security, the opportunity to use new skills, externally generated
goals, variety, environmental clarity, interpersonal contact, and valued social position. The study,
which was conducted to 163 students, discovered that one's perception of safety was also a
change to improve students' well-being. Even after personality and environmental influences
inflexibility accounted for unique variance in life satisfaction and negative affect (Mazzucchelli
& Purcell, 2015). This study is similar to the current study in terms of the variable being
environmental factors are considered and emphasized in this study, which produced significant
results.
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includes self-esteem, anxiety, life satisfaction, and so on, in order to be healthy. It is clear how
vulnerable a person's psychological health is, and how it affects users and what they are exposed
to determines this. The current study aims to look into the impact and relationship between
FoMO, Social Media Engagement, and Psychological Well-Being. Previous research has found
similarities in how physical and social environmental factors affect psychological well-being,
with the majority of findings indicating a link to self-esteem, anxiety, and life satisfaction. These
can be traced back to social comparison through social media engagement and the desire to not
be left out. The current study differs from previous studies in that it aims to identify gender
engagement factors and fear of missing out tendencies. Based on various significant findings,
previous studies are useful in confirming the current study in terms of viewing the issue of social
media in relation to the psychological well-being of college students while taking other
environmental factors into account. Previous studies enable the formation and development of
the current study in order to further explore research graphs and provide readers with in-depth
knowledge.
Adolescents now have widespread access to personal computers, internet and various social
media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Khan et al., 2020). A growing
amount of teenagers’ interaction with others (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Aside from
that FoMO is regarded as a form of problematic social media use and is connected to a variety of
Through the internal process of self-definition and the exterior process of receiving
validation from others, social media can have a significant impact on how teenagers define
themselves and how they desire to achieve their goals with the influence of others (Valkenburg
& Peter, 2011). There is a complex interaction between social media and adolescent
psychosocial development wherein social media was shown to have possible negative effects
of social media (Senekal et al., 2022). Individuals are exposed to a wealth of information about
what other people have been getting up to. As a result, people or adolescents are confused and
always left wondering if they are doing enough or if their lives are going in the right direction
since there is a compulsive behavior that they need to cultivate social connections.
Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a typical anxiety that one might miss out on a pleasurable
experience. They are characterized as individuals who want to stay in touch with others and be
informed of what other people are doing (Liftiah et al., 2016). A person with a fear of missing
out often checks their phones before going to sleep, right after waking up, and even while
driving. The urge to continue checking their social media accounts in different situations all the
time, base their decisions on advice from their friends on social media, and frequently make poor
(EEG), which records brain activity during a visual task, was used in a recent study while
exposed to exclusion and inclusion of social media images. The purpose of this study was to take
a gander further into neurobiological correlation to fear of missing out. According to the findings
of this study, FoMO was positively correlated with attachment style needs for approval and with
24
the right middle temporal gyrus (BA21) only during inclusion conditions. The findings support
the notion that fear of missing out is associated with a higher sensitivity to social inclusive
experiences rather than social exclusion and a need to belong (Lai et al., 2016). These studies
support that current study in terms of investigating the psychological aspect further specifically
on the connection of Fear of Missing Out on how it affects the neurobiological of an individual.
This indicates that the reason behind the urge of a social media user to check their phone from
time to time due to Fear of Missing Out is also due to the need to belong. This study is similar on
the current study in terms of the variables explored which are Fear of Missing Out and
Psychological well-being however differed in terms of the objective, this study only focused on
the neurobiological while the current study aimed to emphasize the moderator and the mediator
Experts say that the fear of missing out is a kind of bad social media attachment that is
linked to a lot of bad events and feelings in life. A study investigated the attachment insecurity
and social media fear of missing out, conducted to 264 adults. According to the findings of this
study, high levels of attachment anxiety foresee elevated levels of FoMO, and this link is found
to be partially mediated by uncertainty intolerance. These findings imply that anxiously attached
people are more vulnerable to FoMO due to their inability to tolerate uncertainty (Alfasi, 2021).
This supports the current study in terms of confirming the reason behind the urge of Fear of
Missing Out which is attachment anxiety which can be related to well-being psychologically.
There are similarities in regard to emphasizing the variable FoMO, however, there are
differences in terms of the objective of the study, the current study aims to focus on the
moderator and mediator variables and the current study did not include uncertainty intolerance
and attachment anxiety. This study is relative to the current study due to confirming that FoMO
25
is linked to the well-being of an individual. Furthermore, being dependent on social media might
make individuals have trouble in doing their everyday tasks (Blackwell et al., 2017).
Another study found that people with FoMO are more likely to give in to psychological
pressures to connect and keep relationships, which makes social media use a must (Beyens et al.,
2016). Despite the instant and intended connections with peers via social media, most teens and
young adults are feeling lonelier and more detached than ever (Hogan, 2018). A study disputed
the prediction of FoMO and loneliness as a result of social media usage. Based on the findings
from 150 Generation Z engineering students, FoMO was linked to Agreeableness, Neuroticism,
and Extraversion. This study discovered that loneliness is related to how respondents typically
feel after using social media, with more than 40% of them experiencing negative or mixed
emotions after viewing social media platforms (Brazil & Rys, 2020).
FoMO can make people compare their own experiences to those of others given that they
don't want to miss out on the fun things other people are doing (Reed, 2020). Seeing people on
social media enjoying their day traveling to other countries and going to parties can cause them
to compare their own experiences to those of others. The fear of missing out and social
comparison causes individuals to feel negative emotions that decrease perceived social support,
decrease self-esteem, and increase dissatisfaction with their lives (Dou, 2021; Acitelli et al.,
2014; Deniz, 2021). They want to have better experiences compared to others and feel inferior to
those left out of trends and lonely. On the other hand, fear of missing out can cause some
individuals to have constant need for personal validation and rewarding appraisals of distorted
sense of self (Burrow & Rainone, 2017). When uploading content on social media, people with
FoMO want reassurance or acceptance from their friends and peers. In other words, when social
media users want to belong to a group of people but do not obtain the positive feedback they
26
seek, they develop low self-esteem and engage in social comparison. This related literature
provided further significant information about the relationship between fear of missing out and
People's daily activities have recently become entwined with social media; many of them
spend hours each day on Messenger, Instagram, Facebook, and other common social media
platforms. As a result, many researchers and scholars investigate the role of social media and
apps on various aspects of people's lives (Bartosik-Purgat, 2017). People are social beings who
require the company of others to progress in life. Thus, while being socially connected with
others can alleviate stress, anxiety, and sadness, a lack of social connection can seriously impact
someone's mental health (Mohamad & Juanir, 2018). Social Media has both beneficial and
detrimental effects.
The advantages and cons of social media on mental health are now being debated
(Berryman, 2018). The amount and quality of social ties influence mental health, health
behavior, physical health, and mortality risk. The Displaced Behavior Theory may assist to
understand why social media and mental health are linked. Sedentary activities such as social
media use, according to the theory, leave significantly less time for face-to-face social
connection, both of which have been shown to be protective against mental diseases (Coyne,
2020). Social theories, in contrast, have revealed how social media exposure impacts mental
well-being by influencing how people interpret, maintain, and participate in their social
networking sites. Numerous studies on the impact of digital technologies have been conducted,
and it has been proposed that prolonged use of social media platforms such as Facebook may be
27
connected with unfavorable signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (Berryman,
2018). Furthermore, social media may put a lot of pressure on people to create the stereotypes
Another concern related with teenage social media use is social comparison. On social
messages and photographs that are often deliberately prepared to depict users in a favorable way.
This may cause some young people to make negative social comparisons about their own
accomplishments, talents, or looks. Higher levels of online social comparison have been linked
may increase the likelihood of disordered eating and body image problems (Fardouly, 2016).
Social media users share negative events with others, exacerbating the severity of negative
emotions. Due to the new phenomenon of social media, little study has been conducted to
evaluate the long-term effects, positive or bad, of its use. Numerous studies, however, have
discovered a substantial correlation between excessive social media usage and an increased risk
This research study will clarify the claim that excessive social media use has a negative
impact on users' psychological well-being. Social media usage has increased significantly in
recent years (Leong et al., 2019; Kemp, 2020). The term "social media" describes the websites
and online technologies that enable user interactions by allowing people to share information,
ideas, and interests (Swar & Hameed, 2017). Social media is used by people for a variety of
purposes, including communication, entertainment, and information seeking. Notably, teens and
young adults are investing more time in social media, e-games, texting, and online networking
sites (Twenge & Campbell, 2019). As a result, there are more worries about the potential harmful
28
effects of social media addiction, particularly on psychological well-being (Swar & Hameed,
2017; Kircaburun et al., 2020; Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2016; Ostic et al., 2021; Choi &
Social media is a relatively new field of study that is fast expanding and gaining
prominence. Due to this phenomenon, there are several unknown and unanticipated beneficial
responses linked with it. According to recent research, utilizing social media platforms might
have a negative impact on the psychological health of its users. However, the extent to which
social media use affects the general population has yet to be identified. The current study found
similarities and relation from previous studies which are useful and provides evidence to support
the current study investigation. The current study focuses on social media engagements and its
impact on psychological well-being; these previous studies are beneficial in demonstrating that
social media has significant effects on the general population of frequent users, whether
positively or negatively.
Social Comparison Orientation on Fear of Missing Out, Social Media Engagement and
Psychological Well-being
Social comparison orientation is the propensity to evaluate oneself against others and
themselves to other people. A relatively new topic of research that has received significant
attention in recent years is the application of social comparison orientation to the context of
social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Numerous studies have discovered that
many social media users do in fact compare themselves to others while engaging with other
29
people’s social media, such as viewing their profile (Chae, 2017). It is due to people's tendency
People who are likely to experience negative feelings toward other social media users
who appear to be more successful than they are. Comparing oneself to others or following other
people’s idealized images could create a self-discrepancy that can negatively affect one’s
psychological well-being. Those with low self-esteem and mental health issues such as
depression, anxiety, or stress are more likely to have a high social comparison orientation (Lee,
2020). People who have low self-esteem are motivated to use social media to look for social
acceptance, so they engage with social media platforms more, which can develop a fear of
missing out. People with a high fear of missing out use social media more extensively (Beyens et
al., 2016). If a person compares themselves to their peers and has negative feelings about the
comparison, their fear of missing out increases (Reed, 2020). Due to the tendency that a person
has to keep up with other people’s idealized image, an individual has this urge to be required to
When people compare themselves with someone they believe to be superior, this is
known as upward social comparison. It is said that upward social comparison has a long-term
negative effect on people's self-esteem and well-being in the form of FoMO, which has been
linked to both anxiety and depression. According to research, upward social comparison on
mobile social media can harm people's mental health as well, increasing their likelihood of
depression (Wang et al., 202). Envy plays a role in mediating the relationship between
depressive symptoms and upward social comparisons on social media. Reducing envy will
reduce the negative effects of upward social comparison (Li, 2021). Another study found that
upward social comparison causes a person to feel a negative emotion called malicious envy
30
which results in these three behavior responses: discontinuance intention, degrading of others via
Browsing on social media platforms such as Instagram causes lower levels of body
appreciation which leads to the person having persistently unfavorable thoughts and feelings
about their body or body dissatisfaction (Pedalino & Camerini, 2022). This is due to individuals
particularly in young females which was being observed showing how other people critique
someone else's weight or physical appearance. They then learn what kind of body image results
in popularity and attractiveness. If an individual did not fit that image, that person is expecting or
afraid of negative comments under their post. Upward social comparison contributes to this. It
drives a person to compare themselves to others, especially people who are more popular and
attractive than them, which results in them feeling that they are not enough. Images of attractive
and thin celebrities are linked to higher levels of body dissatisfaction, as are edited or
manipulated pictures (Brown & Tiggermann, 2016; Kleemans et al., 2018). Other than that, a
person may compare themselves with the number of likes, comments, or followers. Given that it
equates to a person being appreciated by other people, and the number of likes equals a person
being attractive. On social media, people commonly highlight their positive qualities in an effort
to gain positive attention. Positive online self-presentation may raise adolescents’ and young
adults' self-esteem through their apparent online popularity, but with time, popularity online is
inversely correlated with self-esteem due to increased dependence on social approval (Meeus et
al., 2019).
Social comparison tendencies, which are prevalent on social media platforms, can result
perceived social support. The tendency to compare oneself to others has a significant effect on
31
psychological health. Other studies, however, focus on the positive impacts of social comparison
media platforms like Instagram could cause them to have a positive emotional reaction to other
people's online self-presentations such as benign envy (Meier & Schäfer, 2018). They discovered
that positive emotions such as sympathy, optimism, and inspiration may be influenced by social
comparison orientation (Park & Baek, 2018). According to these findings, the type of emotions
elicited by social comparison and the users' social comparison orientation which emphasized
social media are positive or negative. The articles mentioned in the studies above will help
researchers know if some studies about social comparison orientation do cause people to have a
greater fear of missing out, spend more time on social media, and have deteriorating mental
health.
Gender Differences
The aim of recent studies was to explain gender differences in social media activity.
Compared to men, women are more likely than men to use their smartphones to maintain close
personal interactions with their loved ones. Posting pictures and their recorded daily events on
social media could be a way for young females to build social relationships. Furthermore,
females often share their positive emotions and current issues on social media more than males
(Gao et al., 2020). When examining how social media use affects people's behavior, some
researchers additionally include gender differences. Their study showed that men’s and women’s
behaviors vary depending on how they use social media applications. Moreover, a study
regarding the differences in social media use by gender states that young individuals use social
32
media in different ways based on their gender. Women use social media for communication and
information, whereas men use it mostly for enjoyment. The two genders utilize social media in
Fear of missing out (FoMO) is widespread anxiety that one may miss out on something
that others may find enjoyable. Few experts have investigated the association between gender
differences and the fear of missing out. They concluded that women at a young age were
experiencing greater fear of missing out compared to males (Beyens et al., 2016; Elhai et al.,
2018; Stead & Bibby, 2017). Young women desire to stay continually connected with what
others are doing, which can lead them to envy (Weinstein, 2017). They think that others have
had better experiences than them. Moreover, a person who experiences fear of missing out has an
issue regarding their self-identity; they tend to keep up with the trend to gain attention on social
media rather than sharing the activities that they think make them happy and promote self-
acceptance.
In terms of social comparison tendencies between the two genders, women are said to be
more inclined to compare themselves on the level of physical attractiveness based on online
photos. Comparing one's appearance to others is a significant socio-cultural issue that affects
women's body image. Different situations may call for these comparisons such as through
magazines, social media or in person (Fardouly, 2018). Idealized body photos that are posted on
social media lowers body satisfaction which is a result of social comparison orientation
(Pedalino & Camerini, 2022). Even though women tend to compare themselves to others, they
are more likely to be sensitive to, empathize with, and respond to others' feelings than men.
33
Gender is a significant social predictor of health (Manandhar et al., 2018). One essential
component of mental health is psychological well-being. Many studies have been conducted
about gender differences in psychological well-being. In fact, a study conducted globally states
that there are differences between men and women in various health indices. Studies on the
disparities in well-being between men and women have not produced consistent findings
(Ferguson & Gunnel, 2016). Few gender differences in psychological well-being were found in
the results, despite the fact that women reported feeling both positive and negative emotions
more frequently and intensely than males. Women, on the other hand, are found to be more
likely than men to suffer from internalizing diseases such as anxiety and depression. According
to research, happiness and overall life satisfaction levels are comparable between men and
women. Disparities in psychological well-being support the idea that men scored higher on
psychological well-being tests compared to women. Gender differences in mental health are
important given that modern society tries to give everyone the tools they need to reach self-
to enhance both the health and the quality of healthcare for both men and women. According to
research done globally, some health indicators have shown disparities between men and women
(Manandhar et al., 2018). Similar disparities between men and women can be observed in mental
health. Typically, internalizing disorders like depression are more prevalent in women than in
men. Men experience externalizing disorders more commonly than women do, and they also
have greater rates of anti-social and substance use problems (Keyes, 2006).
34
On the other hand, research on the gaps in well-being between men and women has not
consistently produced the expected outcomes (Ferguson & Gunnel, 2016). Few gender
differences in psychological well-being were found in the results even though women reported
feeling both good and negative emotions more frequently and intensely than males (Ryan, 2014).
Whilst research has shown that men and women differ in some aspects of psychological well-
being, such variations typically depend on other factors such as age, culture, or the roles that the
Synthesis
Fear of missing out (FoMO) is an anxiety or worry associated with missing out on things
like social gatherings, activities, or the latest rumors or headlines. FoMO has been linked to a
number of bad behaviors, such as compulsive social media use and phubbing. FoMO increases
the compulsive use of the Internet by young people experiencing psychological discomfort in an
effort to meet their inner demands. Studies have shown that the self-regulation issue, which
results from people not being able to meet social and personal demands, can make people suffer
FoMO.
The use of social media is a 21st-century phenomenon that is constantly growing. About
7 out of 10 people in the U.S. use social media to communicate with others, get news, exchange
information, and have fun. Digital media users who lack self-control experience a number of
negative consequences. Adolescents are substantially more likely to use Snapchat and Instagram
than Facebook. Negative psychosocial media use, especially addiction, can cause symptoms that
are similar to those of drug addiction (Blackwell et al., 2017; Bloemen & De Coninck, 2020).
35
hedonic or enjoyment, pleasure, and eudaimonic or meaning, fulfillment, and happiness. There
are some negative aspects, such as low life satisfaction, anxiety, and low self-esteem. To be
includes self-esteem, anxiety, life satisfaction, and so on. It is clear how vulnerable a person's
health is, and it depends on how it affects users and what they are exposed to.
Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a typical anxiety that one might miss out on a pleasurable
experience. People with FoMO are more likely to give in to psychological pressures to connect
and keep relationships. They are often active on social media instead of making memories with
their family. FoMO can make people compare their own experiences to those of others due to the
fear that they don't want to miss out on the fun things other people are doing. The fear of missing
out and social comparison causes individuals to feel negative emotions that decrease perceived
Excessive social media use has a negative impact on users' psychological well-being.
Teenagers and young adults are investing more time in social media, e-games, texting, and
online networking sites. As a result, there are more worries about the potential harmful effects of
social media addiction. Social isolation, anxiety, loneliness, and depression have all been linked
to social media use. There are consequently more studies highlighting social media as a new
communication channel. Traditional media routinely report research findings revealing the
possible adverse impacts of social media on mental health and well-being. Mental health
36
problems can be caused by stress, anxiety, and depression. The current study will examine how
using social media might hurt or help the mental health of its users.
Social comparison orientation is the propensity to evaluate oneself against others and
other people's idealized images could create a self-discrepancy that can negatively affect one's
psychological well-being. Those with low self-esteem and mental health issues are more likely to
Women are more likely than men to use their smartphones to maintain close personal
interactions with their loved ones. Posting pictures and their recorded daily events on social
media could be a way for young females to build social relationships. Women use social media
for communication and information, whereas men use it mostly for enjoyment. Fear of missing
out (FoMO) is widespread anxiety that one may miss out on something that others find
enjoyable. Few experts have investigated the association between gender differences and FoMO.
Women at a young age are more concerned with missing out compared to men. Gender is a
significant social predictor of health (Manandhar et al., 2018). A study conducted globally states
that there are differences between men and women in various health indices. Women are found
to be more likely than men to suffer from internalizing diseases such as anxiety and depression.
Social media engagement is now a part of the daily routine of individuals due to its
convenience of accessibility and advantages. On the other hand, it cannot deny that social media
engagement has a negative impact on one's well-being. Improper social media use can result in
psychological issues such as social isolation, social anxiety, depression, and fear of missing out.
With that in mind, the researchers aimed to emphasize the effects of social media engagement on
psychological well-being.
The majority of the studies cited in the literature review section were conducted in Western
countries. There are previous statistics in the local setting, however there is a dearth of how
gender differences and social comparison orientation moderate and mediate the relationships of
the three variables, which are fear of missing out, social media engagement, and psychological
well-being. The current study aims to fill the gap on the inconsistency of who is far more
vulnerable to low psychological well-being due to FoMO and Social Media Engagement, it is
still questionable if it is female or male. Given these gaps in the literature, the current study
aimed to further study the gender differences and social comparison orientation moderate and
mediate analysis to be carried out in the local setting specifically Manila, Philippines. This study
intends:
1. To determine if fear of missing out and social media engagement influence the
psychological well-being.
between fear of missing out, social media engagement and psychological well-being.
3. To determine if sex has a moderating effect on the relationship between fear of missing
This study focuses on the relationship of social media engagement to social comparison
orientation, fear of missing out (FoMO) and its effect on psychological well-being. Moreover,
the current study aims to determine how each gender differs in experiencing the consequences of
social media engagement in terms of social media comparison, fear of missing out, and
psychological well-being. The study will be conducted in Adamson University campus located at
Malate, Manila, Philippines with college students as participants. The data will be collected from
January to March 2023. Only college students who are studying in Adamson University will be
invited to participate in the study. They can belong to any college level and course, with the age
bracket of 17 to 24 years old. The current study utilizes a cross-sectional study specifically in a
This research will only be conducted from August to March 2023. Therefore, the effects
of social media engagement on the participant, such as social comparison orientation, fear of
missing out, and psychological well-being may be better or worse depending on what they have
experienced in those times. The study will only cover the consequences of social media
engagement of Adamson University students. There are no other age groups apart from the usual
age of college students, which are 17 to 24. This study only sought to gain responses from
Adamson University students for a more generalized population. Therefore, only obtaining
orientation, and fear of missing out separately. In the current study, the researchers intended to
simultaneously explore the mediating role and moderating effects on these three factors.
However, it stipulates that social media addiction and depression would not be covered in the
study.
40
Theoretical Framework
This section introduces several theories that will support the current study regarding
Gender Differences and Social Comparison Orientation on the Relationship between Fear of
Missing Out, Social Media Engagement, and Psychological Well-Being of College Students: A
others. Social media is deeply ingrained in the culture of young people who have grown up in the
digital age, and constructing an ideal online version of themselves seems to be their standard.
Social media is frequently referred to as a "blooper reel" of one's life, as photos are edited,
cropped, and touched up before being uploaded to present an idyllic image (Pantic, 2014).
People seldom post unfiltered content depicting any kind of setbacks. As a result, many people
believe they must live up to impossible beauty, fitness and financial standards. In their media-
driven world, college students are heavily influenced by such content, and this pressure can
result in unhealthy depressive thoughts and even serious psychological issues such as eating
disorders.
Social comparison is the robber of joy since it provides individuals with a standard for
what other people find desirable and prevents them from being satisfied with their own lives. A
person tends to compare themselves to others, whether in terms of academic success, outward
appearance or the experiences of other individuals, which causes them to have emotional
problems like anxiety and loneliness (Prihadi, et al., 2019). Individual motivation, based on
41
SCT, is also influenced by two types of social comparison: upward and downward (Coyne et.al,
2022). A highly motivated individual would actively seek self-improvement and tend to engage
when they compare themselves to someone who is significantly more inactive than they are to
feel better about themselves. Previous research has found that users of social media platforms
such as Facebook may be inclined to perceive other users as better off than they are and to
Additionally, experts also stated that there is a relationship between social comparison in
its upward form with FoMO and psychological well-being. Social media provide a conducive
setting for upward social comparison, which might result in jealousy and unfavorable emotions
(Krasnova et al., 2013). People who make bad self-evaluations after reading other people's self-
presentations on social media may feel less content with their life and report more negative
effects. Researchers also discovered correlations between FoMO and obsessive behavior,
mediated social comparison, and psychological health (Classen, 2018; Oberst et.al., 2017),
Moreover, others see FOMO as a drive to be connected to monitor what other people are doing.
Increased compulsive social media usage will enable people to compare more, which will raise
People have many different methods of judging themselves, but one of the most common
ways is through social comparison or evaluating oneself to others. People use these comparisons
with others to determine how well they can describe their skills, personality traits, and attitudes.
If an individual's comparisons are ineffective, an individual tends to demand their existing skill
42
set. Consider the potential effects of social comparison on self-belief, confidence, motivation,
and attitude as an individual compares themselves to others. Be on the lookout for any
Self-evaluation theory or SEM, states that when someone performs better than us, an
individual has tendencies to feel threatened, especially if they are close to us. The SEM theory
accomplishments pose a threat, have the potential to alter one's sense of self, and have
Using social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has made staying in touch
with others much more convenient than before. The convenience of having social media at
fingertips has sparked a lot of discussion about the issue of the fear of missing out. Fear of
missing out and social media seem to go hand in hand these days (Reed, 2020). However, when
social media is associated with the fear of missing out, it negatively impacts people’s
psychological well-being (Savitri, 2019). An individual has this tendency to feel that they are
required to stay connected with others, to share the best aspects of life, impress others, satisfy a
craving for approval, and tendencies to socially compare to others. The self-evaluation
maintenance theory proves that we feel threatened when someone does better than us, especially
TCIU is a recent theory that has been widely applied in the context of social media (Elhai
et al., 2017; Tandon et al., 2021). The uniqueness of TCIU is its emphasis on psychopathology as
a motivational force behind problematic internet or social media use (Elhai et al., 2017).
According to the TCIU, individuals may be prompted to overuse of social media to cope with or
compensate for a purported lack of social needs being fulfilled, as well as negative emotions or
stressors related to their life conditions (Wang et al., 2018; Wolniewicz et al., 2019). The current
study uses TCIU to theorize that users of social media have tendency to compensate for the
dissatisfaction on their needs, which is a form of anxiety and thus a negative emotion, will be
urged to expand their use of social media in order to deal with it and receive compensation for it
The current study subjectively presumes that such users would obsessively follow the
social media profiles of others or stalk other profiles. They may also be prone to comparing
events in their own lives with the profiles they visit, specifically engaging in social comparison
in order to avoid FoMO by ensuring participation in important events shared by other members
of their social group. The current study proposition is backed up by previous research, which
suggests that people are more likely to use social forms of technology such as smartphones and
social media to cope with perceived negativity and unmet social needs (Wang et al., 2018).
Moreover, studies have shown that, aside from FoMO, As a result, researchers presume that
TCIU is an appropriate theory to serve as the theoretical foundation for the current research.
However, some scholars consider the explicit focus of TCIU on psychopathology and negative
44
(Wolniewicz et al., 2019). Prior research has shown that digital social interaction and behaviors
such as social comparison with a positive-oriented motive such as self-improvement could often
translate into negative effects on psychological well-being as well (Latif et al., 2021; Cramer et
The epigenetic concept served as the foundation for Erikson's theories. According to this
theory, humans develop in a series of steps that take place over time and within the framework of
a broader community. From infancy to maturity, Erikson argued that personality develops via
eight stages of psychosocial development in a set order. The person goes through a psychological
crisis at each level, which may or may not affect how their personality develops. The focus of
psychosocial theories is on how people see themselves, interact with others, and make
connections with their social environment. Psychosocial theories focus on the pattern changes in
ego development that occur throughout a person's life, including self-understanding, identity
formation, social interactions, and worldview. The psychosocial theories contend that continual
interactions between people and their social settings are what lead to development.
Erik Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory emphasizes the identity versus confusion crises that
occur during the teen years, between the ages of 12 and 18. The establishment of a sense of
personal identity that will influence a person's conduct and development for the rest of their life
must occur during this stage. Teenagers may experience confusion or insecurity about who they
are as individuals and how they fit into society as they make the transition from childhood to
adulthood. Teenagers may experiment with numerous roles, activities, and behaviors as they try
45
to develop a sense of self. This is crucial, in Erikson's opinion, for the process of creating a solid
identity and a feeling of purpose in life. Teenagers must develop a sense of self and their own
unique identities. Failure develops role confusion and a weak sense of identity, whereas success
fosters the ability to be able to be true to one’s self (Cherry, 2022). Thus, college students may
utilize the internet to get away from the challenges they face on a daily basis as a result of their
self-identity uncertainty, as well as to examine their personal values, beliefs, and aspirations if
they are experiencing self-identity confusion (Hsieh et al., 2019). While intimacy vs. isolation
main difficulty at this point revolves around developing close, loving relationships with other
individuals (McLeod, 2018). It occurs between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. This may lead to
FoMO because one may feel like they must stay connected via social media to maintain a
relationship with other people. Furthermore, FoMO may also hinder a person’s romantic
relationship with other people because couples may spend more time creating an "image" of who
they are rather than concentrating on the relationship itself as a result of social media, which can
lead to unhealthy comparison and irrational expectations about what relationships should be like
(Moore, 2022). The psychological well-being suffers the most in these circumstances because
they may experience mood swings, loneliness, inferiority complex, low self-worth, severe social
Conceptual Framework
Figure 1. Moderation of Gender Difference and Mediation of Social Comparison between the
In the current study, Figure 1 represents an outline of the mediating and moderating
analysis flow as well as the examined relationships from one variable to another. Beginning with
the independent variables, which are social media engagement and fear of missing out. Several
studies have tried to seek the mediating effect of fear of missing out (FoMO); however, in the
current study, FoMO is considered one of the major influences and has a significant relationship
with the dependent variable of the current study. The current study thoroughly investigates
hypotheses that individuals' tendency to compare in social media with the presence of urge and
trigger fear of missing out by engaging and looking at photos or posts on other people's profiles
has a negative or positive effect on the psychological well-being of college students. The
objective of this study was to confirm and define the significant negative or positive effects on
psychological well-being. The current research is attempting to identify this phenomenon, which
47
is not age-related. Rather, investigate gender differences that moderate this phenomenon. Several
studies have been unable to thoroughly analyze and did not emphasize gender differences in the
relationship between fear of missing out, social media engagement, and an individual's
psychological well-being, resulting in contradictory claims, which the current study aims to fill
these gaps.
Hypothesis
Ha1. Fear of missing out and Social Media Engagement have influenced Psychological Well-
being.
Ha2. Social Comparison Orientation mediates the relationship between Fear of Missing Out,
Ha3. Gender moderates the relationship between Fear of Missing Out, Social Media Engagement
Social media engagement is one of the phenomena in our daily life. Numerous studies
have discussed the relationship of social media engagement to social comparison orientation,
fear of missing out and psychological well-being of the students. However, the previous study
48
focused on the relationship between the variables of the study and students in general. Thus, the
purpose of the current study is to contribute to the extent of research on Gender Differences in
social comparison orientation, fear of missing out, and psychological well-being. Specifically,
d. Psychological Well-being
3. Does fear of missing out and social media engagement influence the psychological well-
4. Does social comparison mediate the relationship between Fear of missing out, Social
5. Would gender be able to moderate the association between fear of missing out and Social
Definition of Terms
49
This enables the readers to comprehend the concepts, terms or abbreviations that are
investigated and used all throughout the current study. This section provides the overview of the
Fear of Missing Out (FoMO). The feeling or perception that other individuals are having more
fun, living better lives, or enjoying things better than what they are experiencing is referred to as
Social Media Engagement (SME). Online behaviors that allow for direct exchanges between
users. It is the tendency to likes, comments, messages, and other forms of interaction with other
users through social media platforms. In this current study, it is also defined as the sum of
content and entertainment media consumed on the daily basis by an individual from social media
life such as relationships, self-esteem, purpose, and meaning, which overall defines an individual
if they have a healthy well-being psychologically, which is emphasized in this study (Garganta et
al., 2021). Psychological well-being is a pivotal component of mental health and can be defined
Social Comparison Orientation (SCO). The tendency to compare one's personal achievements,
circumstance, and experiences with those of other individuals is defined as social comparison
Gender Difference. Typical distinctions among both men and women that are culturally specific
and influenced by attitudes and practices. Gender differences manifest themselves in a variety of
Method
This section presents the research design, site and participants, the instruments, the
Research Design
The current research employed a descriptive and predictive-causal research design. The
psychological well-being, fear of missing out, and social media engagement. On the other hand,
the predictive-causal research design is used to measure both direct and indirect relationships, or
hypothesized relationships, among the study's constructs (Chin et al., 2020). Partial least squares-
path modeling (PLS-PM) is utilized to estimate the variables of the study's framework, and
WarpPLS 8.0 is utilized as the software. The structural model, which is the evaluation of
sizes, as well as the measurement model, which pertains to construct validity and reliability, are
evaluated (Hair et al., 2017). In order to measure the indirect effects of social comparison
51
orientation are also included in a mediation analysis, which also performed a moderation analysis
for gender.
The current study's sampling design is non-probability sampling, specifically the quota
sampling method. The purpose of this sampling technique is for the researchers to obtain a
representative sample from the participants in the study, and this particular demographic must
have the same characteristics that the researchers are seeking (Saunders et al., 2016). The
participants are gathered online through the Adamson University Blackboard portal.
Sample
The current study utilized the general population of college students enrolled in the
school year 2022-2023 at Adamson University. The minimum sample size is 374, based on the
estimated population size the enrollees are 12, 296 in total as the possible participants if they
approved the consent to volunteer. The sample size calculator, specifically one manufactured by
Raosoft Inc. and available online, to calculate the number of respondents required for the study.
The sample size must have a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error.
To ensure that the sample size is adequate, the researchers employed the inverse square
root and gamma-exponential methods using the WarpPLS 8.0 software. The inverse square root
method estimates the standard error by taking the inverse square root of the sample size. The
52
gamma-exponential method, on the other hand, estimates standard error using gamma and
exponential smoothing function corrections. The inverse square root and gamma-exponential
methods simulate Monte Carlo experiments, and the results are identical to those of the Monte
Carlo method (Kock & Hadaya, 2018). A minimum absolute significant path coefficient of
0.167, a significance level of 0.05, and a power level of 0.95 were used.
Instrument
The equipment being utilized in this study has been adapted with the necessary permission from
its authors, and have been validated by some experts in this field.
A 10-item self-report questionnaire was designed and released to assess participants' fear
of missing out (Przybylski et al., 2013). Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients for the private
factor, social factor, and overall scale were 0.84, 0.87, and 0.88, respectively, according to the
findings of this study. As a result, the questionnaire is considered to be in the public domain.
Although no permission was sought from the authors, proper credit and attribution were provided
in the review article to acknowledge the FoMOS and its creators. The scale that is developed can
be utilized by researchers as an efficient tool for assessing the FoMO levels of youth while also
allowing the individual to actually recognize and act on the FoMO experience. Furthermore,
validity and reliability studies can be conducted by using the scale at various educational levels
The Social Media Engagement Scale for Adolescents (SMES-A) is a reliable and
accurate tool for measuring social media engagement in adolescents. The three factors' mean
intra-correlation coefficients were 0.523, 0.451, and 0.512. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for
affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement ranged from 0.709 to 0.804. Their McDonald's
omega values were 0.805, 0.805, and 0.712, indicating that this three-factor structure was highly
reliable. Eight weeks later, the test-retest reliability of all three factors was greater than 0.68. (Ni
et al., 2020). As a result, the questionnaire is considered to be in the public domain. Even though
the writers' permission wasn't needed, credit and attribution were given in the research report to
scale containing 11 self-reported items. Participants are asked to indicate how much they agree
with the details relating to how they compare themselves to others on a 5-point Likert scale
(Tigges, 2009). The reliability is high, ranging from 49 to 73 percent of the explained variance.
However, the control item has low reliability, as expected, with a reliability of only 15%. As a
result, the questionnaire is considered to be in the public domain. The writers' permission wasn't
needed, but they were given credit and a nod in the research report to show that they were
meaning, was applied to assess psychological well-being. The Flourishing Scale is a reliable and
valid test for determining psychological well-being in adolescents, adults, and the elderly range
from 18 years and older (Garganta et al., 2021). As a result, the questionnaire is considered
public domain. Although no permission from the writers was required, due credit and attribution
Procedure
The current study is approved by the school to be conducted in Adamson University and
was approved by the school administrators, the Chairperson and the teachers. The administrators
received a letter of request from the researchers to conduct the study at the university and asked
the school to participate. In coordination with faculty members who are teaching Professional
Psychology courses, the teachers posted announcements in the Blackboard portal regarding the
study guided by the Informed Consent and other details. It included the description of the study,
a consent form, a demographic questionnaire, the Fear of Missing Out Scale, the Social Media
Engagement Scale, the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Scale, and the Flourishing
Scale. The teachers and the researchers posted the link of the questionnaire in a Google Form
through the group chat in Facebook of any year level of college students that are enrolled in
Adamson University in school year 2022-2023. In the Informed Consent the researchers have
stated and made it clear that no additional incentive in grades are given for participation except
55
the P50 load from GCASH, which are from the researchers. After all the total of questionnaires
has been answered by the college students who volunteered which they have answered via
Google Form, five (5) participants have received the P50 load from GCASH using a Random
Only the students who have agreed to participate have completed the FOMOS, SMES,
INCOMS, and FS at home during a time that did not conflict with classwork and their schedules.
Through proper coordination with school administrators and teachers, the participants were
recruited to participate with their voluntary consent. There are two steps to conducting an online
survey: First, the consent of voluntary participation; second, the completion of the survey
questionnaire; and third, the freedom to withdraw at any point or not be able to complete the
survey. Responses on the survey questionnaire that do not reflect response variability were
eliminated from the analysis. Online surveys are an option being considered due to the current
condition of the COVID-19 pandemic, which paralyzed the conduct of the study involving face-
Data Analysis
Preliminary Analysis
The researchers performed data cleaning for the preliminary study, specifically
Mahalanobis distance and univariate and multivariate outlier data removal from the dataset
compiled from participant responses. To ensure that every participant answered all scale
elements, each question on the Google Form page where data was collected required a response.
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Respondents are motivated to complete the questionnaire since attention-check questions are
randomly placed throughout the survey. Respondents are asked if their survey responses were
correct in the final phase of the exam. The responses of those who answered "no" are deleted.
The current study used PLS-SEM, one of its aims was to identify if the model had a
better fit with the original data than another. Thus, it is vital to measure the quality of the model
using several indices. There were six indices computed in the present study, namely, the average
path coefficient (APC), average R-squared (ARS), average adjusted R-squared (AARS), average
block variance inflation factor (AVIF), average full collinearity VIF (AFVIF), and Tenenhaus
goodness of fit (GoF). For the model to be acceptable, the p-values of APC, ARS, and AARS
In terms of AVIF and AFVIF, the values must be both equal to or lower than 3.3 (Kock,
2017). With regard to Tenenhaus GoF, a gauge of the explanatory power of the model, the
following thresholds are being followed: small if equal to or more than 0.1; medium if equal to
or greater than 0.25; and large if equal to or larger than 0.36 (Wetzels et al., 2009; Kock, 2018).
may arise. To verify whether multicollinearity exists, the variance inflation factor (VIF)
coefficients are computed using WarpPLS 8.0. The VIF values allow examination of both lateral
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and vertical collinearity (Kock & Lynn, 2012). To tell whether no multicollinearity exists, the
values of VIF must be equal to or lower than 3.3 (Petter et al., 2007; Kock & Lynn, 2012; Kock,
2015).
To demonstrate the robustness of the results of the study, an assessment of the reliability
and validity of the variables is necessary. Reliability of the constructs is assessed to evaluate the
consistency of items, particularly reflective items, in terms of what they intend to measure
(Straub et al., 2004). There are two measures of reliability: Cronbach’s alpha and composite
reliability (Roldán & Sánchez-Franco, 2012; Kock, 2018). Comparing the two measures of
reliability, composite reliability in general is more acceptable, but both are reported in paper. To
reflect high reliability, the values of the composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha must be
equal to or higher than 0.7 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Nunnally, 1978; Nunnally & Bernstein,
1994).
In terms of validity of the constructs, both convergent and discriminant validity tests are
construct. It gauges whether the respondents and the designers of the items/ questions/statements
of the questionnaire have the same understanding on what the construct intends to measure. To
say that the constructs possess convergent validity, the p-values of each item must be equal to or
lower than 0.05 and the loadings be equal to or higher than 0.5 (Hair et al., 2009; Kock, 2018).
Item loading refers to the correlation between the construct and the item (Amora et al., 2016;
Kock, 2018).
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Part of the assessment of convergent validity is measuring the amount of variance of each
variable from its items relative to the amount due to measurement error, or simply the average
variance extracted (AVE) (Chin, 1998; Amora et al., 2016). The AVE must be equal to or higher
than 0.5. As a result, the AVE coefficients satisfied the acceptable validity (Fornell & Larcker,
1981).
For discriminant validity, the researchers used the Fornell & Larcker criterion. This
determined whether the statements linked to each latent variable are not confusing to the
respondents answering the questionnaire. It also tests whether the statements related to one
variable are not confused with the statements connected to other variables (Kock, 2018). For
each variable, the square root of the AVEs must be greater than the correlations involving the
variable (Fornell & Lacker, 1981). If the instrument passes this criterion, then the researchers can
Main Analysis
WarpPLS 6.0 software was employed to estimate the parameters of the mediation model. A PLS-
SEM is a variance-based estimation method that assesses the reliability and validity of the
constructs and estimates the relationships between these measures (Barroso et al., 2010; Reinartz
et al., 2009).
Ethical Considerations
The researchers used the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Guidelines
for Treating Human Participants in Research as a guide to ensure the experiment was ethically
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sound. The rules serve as a guideline for researchers dealing with circumstances that arise during
the investigation. The purpose of the APA Ethical Guidelines is to protect and ensure the well-
being of all those involved in the experiment. The rights of the participants in this study were
given careful consideration. The ethics code complements legal laws that are consistent with
ethical values. As a result, ethical considerations are highlighted in this study in order to
This includes adult male and female participants who are studying at Adamson
University and able to make informed decisions. Participants were given a digital informed
consent form to ensure that all information was clear and to prevent misconceptions. Brief
background information on the study, procedures employed, duration, voluntary nature of the
study, risks/benefits, and anonymity were all included in the informed consent. No deception was
practiced. Also, exaggeration about the aims and objectives of the research is avoided.
Participation in this study is completely anonymous, which means that none of the
participants’ responses or non-identifiable demographic data will be linked to the identity of the
entire organization. Participants may withdraw from this research at any time without penalty or
consequence. If participants decide to withdraw, their responses will not be included in and used
If the participants have questions at any time about this study, or have experienced
adverse effects as a result of participating in this study, then, they can freely express these
concerns to the researchers. If the participants have questions regarding their rights as a research
participant, or if problems arise during the participation, the participants can discuss it with the
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group of researchers by contacting the representative of group : Jenevalyn Ullega via this email
address (jenevalyn.ullega@adamson.edu.ph)
By benefiting participants, the community as a whole can receive benefits as well from
the study. This study will benefit the students by raising awareness and broadening their
Missing Out, Psycho-social Well-being, and Social Media Engagement. It will also inform
readers about the risky effects of social media, and it will be extremely useful for mental health
The researchers made sure to minimize as little as possible the risks while obtaining the
same amount of knowledge. The dignity and well-being of the participants was protected at all
times. No one from the vulnerable group participated in the experiment; no groups were
exploited based on their circumstances. The dignity and well-being of the participants was
In addition, the following ethical considerations were also taken into account in
Conflict of Interest
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The researchers assured to minimize the tendencies of conflict of interest from occurring,
two experimenters would act as a mediator and administrator of the test between the two groups
Additional data obtained in this study, such as demographics, are kept private and are not used or
released in any way other than for the purposes of this study. Videos as proofs are kept in a
Google Drive folder only visible with the administrator and the professor.
Plagiarism
Although it can be unintentional, the experimenters made sure that the data included in
this paper are all given proper credits and dissertation with the use of the APA referencing
system. The experimenters made sure that they did not benefit by harming other researchers by
Research Misconduct
The researchers did not commit any academic fraud, such as falsifying data, changing
This section presents the gathered data represented in tabular form as well as its analysis
and interpretation. The findings contained are based on the results of the statistical treatment
applied using statistical software particularly IBM-SPSS v27, jamovi v2.3.19 and WarpPLS v8.
Preliminary Analysis
The pilot study included 399 undergraduate students recruited from various programs at
Adamson University. All of the respondents were considered to be part of the study, since, based
on Mahalanobis Distance, no multivariate outliers were found using IBM-SPSS v27. The
kurtosis and skewness indices were examined using jamovi v2.3.19, and none of the observed
indicators had absolute skewness and kurtosis values of > [3] and > [10], respectively. As a
result, the distribution's univariate normality is met (Weston & Gore, 2006). If prior empirical
studies have provided evidence of the existence of an underlying latent variable structure, a
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tests the adequacy of data fit in the priori structure provided
(Bryne, 2009).
Measurement Model
Table 1
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For the model to be acceptable, the p-values of the average path coefficient (APC),
average R-squared (ARS), and average adjusted R-squared (AARS) must be equal to or less than
0.05. The average block VIF (AVIF) and average full collinearity VIF (AFVIF) indices should
be 3.3 or less (Kock, 2017). The following thresholds are used for Tenenhaus goodness of fit
(GoF), an index that measures the model's explanatory power (Kock, 2017): small if equal to or
greater than 0.1, medium if equal to or greater than 0.25, and large if equal to or greater than
0.36. (Kock, 2017; Wetzels, Odekerken-Schroder, & van Oppen, 2009). The GoF is the product
of the ARS and the average communality index squared (Tenenhaus, Vinzi, Chatelin, & Lauro,
2005). For Simpson’s paradox ratio, the acceptable threshold is >0.7; for the r-squared
contribution ratio, it is >0.9; for the statistical suppression ratio, the acceptable threshold is >0.7;
and lastly, for the nonlinear bivariate causality direction ratio, the acceptable ratio is >0.7. Table
1 displays the model fit coefficients and quality indices for the structural equation model. The
results show that the SEM estimates fall within a reasonable range and are considered
acceptable.
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Table 2
Item Loadings, Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Reliability of Fear of Missing Out
Table 3
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Item Loadings, Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Reliability of Social Media
Engagement
Table 4
Item Loadings, Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Reliability of Social Comparison
Orientation
7. I often try to find out what others think who face 0.872
similar problems as I face.
8. I always like to know what others in a similar 0.845
situation would do.
9. If I want to learn more about something, I try to 0.863
find out what others think about it.
10. I never consider my situation in life relative to 0.719
that of other people.
Table 5
Item Loadings, Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Reliability of Psychological Well-
Being
The measurement model was evaluated using the results of reliability and validity tests
(convergent and discriminant). The assessment of construct reliability allows for the evaluation
of the consistency of a reflective item or set of items in terms of what it intends to measure
(Straub, Boudreau, & Gefen, 2004; Roldan & Sanchez-Franco, 2012). Composite reliability and
Cronbach's alpha are commonly used to assess construct reliability (Roldan & Sanchez-Franco,
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2012; Kock, 2017). The composite reliability (CR) and Cronbach's alpha (CA) values must be
equal to or greater than 0.7 to indicate good reliability. Nunnally (1978), Fornell and Larcker
Convergent validity, on the other hand, assesses the quality of a research instrument's set
of items or question statements. This means that participants understand the items or question-
statements in each construct in the same way that the developers intended (Kock, 2017). The p-
values for each item should be equal to or less than 0.05, and the loadings should be equal to or
greater than 0.5, to achieve an acceptable level of convergent validity (Hair, Anderson, &
Tatham, 1987; Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2009; Kock, 2017). The relationship between
the item and the construct is defined as item loading (Amora, Ochoco, & Anicete, 2016; Kock,
2017). In Table 3, all variable item loadings are statistically significant and greater than the 0.5
threshold. Furthermore, the extracted average variance (AVE) compares the variance of each
construct to the variance due to measurement error (Chin, 1998; Amora et al., 2016). Each latent
variable has an AVE greater than 0.5, which is the recommended threshold for acceptable
Tables 2-5 show that all of the variables, which are fear of missing out, social media
engagement, social comparison orientation, and psychological well-being, met the criterion for
Table 6
Table 6 depicts the correlations between variables using square roots of AVE coefficients
to assess the instrument's discriminant validity. When respondents complete the questionnaire,
discriminant validity determines whether or not the statements associated with each latent
variable are perplexing. Furthermore, it determines whether statements about one variable, for
example, are not confusing with statements about other variables (Kock, 2017). The square root
of the AVEs for each variable should be greater than any of the correlations involving the
variable (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). As a result, the findings suggest that the measures used in the
Table 7
Profile in terms of Gender
Gender Counts % of Total
Female 223 56 %
Male 176 44 %
TOTAL 399 100%
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Table 7 displays the gender distribution of the students. According to the tabulated data,
223 (or 56%) were female, while 176 (or 44%) were male. The data analysis revealed that the
Table 8
Mean and Standard Deviation of the Variables
Indicators N Mean SD Verbal Interpretation
Fear of Missing Out 399 2.40 0.86 Slightly True of Me
Social Media Engagement 399 3.23 0.84 Sometimes
Social Comparison Orientation 399 2.90 1.05 Sometimes
Psychological Well-Being 399 5.04 1.47 Slightly Agree
Legend: 1.00-1.79: Not at all true of Me; 1.80-2.59: Slightly true of Me; 2.60-3.39; Moderately true of Me; 3.40-4.19: Very True of Me; 4.20-
5.00: Extremely true of Me (FoMO)
Legend: 1.00-1.79: Never; 1.80-2.59: Rarely; 2.60-3.39; Sometimes; 3.40-4.19: Often; 4.20-5.00: Always (SME & SCO)
Legend: 1.00-1.86: Strongly Disagree; 1.87-2.73: Disagree; 2.74-3.60; Slightly Disagree; 3.61-4.47: Mixed or neither agree nor disagree; 4.48-
5.34: Slightly Agree; 5.35-6.21: Agree; 6.22-700: Strongly Agree
Table 7 summarizes the mean and standard deviation of the variables under study. Fear
of missing out received an overall mean score of 2.40 and a standard deviation of 0.86,
indicating that students agreed that it is always important to understand their friends' "lame
jokes," that they question whether they spend too much time keeping up with current events, and
that it bothers them when they miss a chance to meet up with friends. In terms of social media
engagement, the generated mean is 3.23 and the standard deviation is 0.84, indicating that
students occasionally use social media on a daily basis, browse social media whenever they have
time, and check social media before going to sleep, even if it is late. Similarly, social comparison
orientation yielded an overall mean score of 2.90 and a standard deviation of 1.05, indicating that
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students occasionally try to determine what others who face similar problems think and are
interested in what others in a similar situation would do. Lastly, psychological well-being
received an overall mean score of 5.04 and a standard deviation of 1.47, indicating that students
were moderately in agreement that they actively contribute to the happiness and well-being of
others, that they are competent and capable in the activities that are important to them, and that
3. Does fear of missing out and social media engagement influence the psychological well-
Table 9
Parameter Estimates of Direct and Mediation Model
Indirect Effects
f 2 is the Cohen’s (1988) effect size: 0.02=small, 0.15=medium, 0.35=large; SE = standard error, β=standardized
path coefficient. Total effect c is equal to the sum of direct effect c’ and indirect effects; i.e. c = c’ + (a*b)
Table 9 describes the parameter estimates of the direct and indirect effects of the
variables. Analysis of the data indicated that fear of missing out (p = 0.009) and social
comparison orientation (p = <0.001) have direct influence and good predictors of psychological
well-being. It indicates that for every 1 unit increase in fear of missing out, it will lead to 0.116-
point decrease in psychological well-being. Similarly, for every 1 unit increase in social
comparison orientation, 0.303-point decrease will occur to psychological well-being. The path
coefficients are negative, implying that as the levels of fear of missing out and social comparison
orientation increase, the level of psychological well-being will decrease, and vice versa. The
effect size of the paths from fear of missing out to psychological well-being (Cohen’s f 2=0.037)
and social comparison orientation to psychological well-being (Cohen’s f2=0.119) is small but
the latter has more impact on psychological well-being based on the coefficient . The finding
suggests that H1 and H2 are supported. On the other hand, social media engagement does not
influence the level of psychological well-being, implying that the variables are not statistically
connected and that the value of one variable does not grow or decrease in response to the
4. Does social comparison mediate the relationship between Fear of missing out, Social
A mediation analysis using structural equation modeling was performed to assess the
mediating role of social comparison orientation on the direct linkage between fear of missing out
and social engagement to psychological well-being. The results revealed p-values of p=<0.001
between fear of missing out and psychological well-being and p=0.002 between social media
engagement and psychological well-being, which are lower than the 05 level of significance,
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implying that social comparison orientation mediates the relationships between these variables.
Specifically, with the inclusion of social comparison orientation, the negative impact of fear of
f2=0.047) with small effect size. Hence, social comparison orientation partially mediated the
direct influence of fear of missing out to psychological well-being of the students. On the other
hand, because of the inclusion of social comparison orientation, the social media engagement can
now influence the psychological well-being of the students, implying that full mediation
occurred. In fact, with the inclusion of social comparison orientation, the social media
f2=0.019) of the students. This means that as the level of social media engagement increases, the
Table 10
Multigroup Analysis Result
5. Would gender be able to moderate the association between fear of missing out and
Table 10 presents the multigroup analysis (MGA) on the significant difference on the
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hypothesized relationships. The objective of MGA is to compare the beta coefficients of the
structural model between male and female studies. In assessing MGA results, the recommended
threshold for each p-value of every hypothesized relationship to be significant is <.10 (Kock,
2014).
Using constrained latent growth method, analysis of the data revealed that there were
Specifically, the influence of fear of missing out on the psychological well-being is strongest to
female (β = -0.148) college students. On the other hand, the influence of social comparison
coefficient.
Mediating Effect
Moderating Effect
Table 9 presents how socio-economic status moderates the direct relationship between
parenting styles and academic performance. The analysis revealed that socio-economic status
moderates the direct and causal relationship of authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles to
academic performance. Specifically, with the inclusion of socio-economic status, the influence of
authoritative parenting style is strongest to those who have high household income. Similarly,
with the inclusion of socio-economic status as a moderator, the authoritarian parenting style
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influences now the academic performance of the students. The direct relationship is strongest to
those students how have low household income. Therefore, based on the findings, H8 and H9
were supported.