Chasing the "Like": High FoMO elevates P300 responses to positive social feedback

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Social Media Research

Background:

• Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is linked to the need to belong and compulsive social media use.
• Social media interactions provide social rewards that fulfill this need and activate reward pathways.
• Neural processing of social feedback in individuals with high FoMO is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural processing differences in response to social feedback between high and low FoMO groups.
• To examine event-related potential (ERP) components associated with social feedback.

Main Methods:

• A social incentive delay task (SIDT) was used with 67 university students, categorized into high and low FoMO groups.
• Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during the task, focusing on feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300 ERP components.
• Group differences in ERP amplitudes related to feedback valence were analyzed.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in FRN amplitudes were found between the high and low FoMO groups.
• A significant interaction for the P300 component revealed larger amplitudes in the high FoMO group for positive social feedback.
• No group differences in P300 amplitudes were observed for negative or neutral social feedback.

Conclusions:

• Individuals with high FoMO exhibit enhanced neural sensitivity to positive social feedback.
• This hypersensitivity indicates greater motivational salience and attention to social approval.
• Elevated neural responsivity to social cues may be a risk marker for problematic social media engagement.