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Fear of Missing Out and Problematic Social Media Use Among Chinese University Students: Latent Profiles and Two-Wave
Yang Wang1,2, Lei Zhang2, Jon D Elhai3,4
1Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Health, The Affiliated Kangning Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 27, 2026
Summary
Fear of missing out (FoMO) strongly links to problematic social media use (PSMU) in university students. This association remains stable across different user groups and over time, highlighting the consistent impact of FoMO on PSMU.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Science
- Digital Health
Background:
- Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a known predictor of problematic social media use (PSMU).
- Limited research exists on how this association varies across different severity levels or changes longitudinally.
- Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cross-sectional and two-wave associations between FoMO and PSMU.
- To identify severity-based subgroups for both FoMO and PSMU.
- To examine temporal stability and node-level changes in the FoMO-PSMU network.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional and two-wave longitudinal study design.
- Partial correlation and regression analyses.
- Latent profile analysis for subgroup identification.
- Node-level network analyses to map interconnections.
Main Results:
- FoMO was consistently positively associated with PSMU across the study.
- Latent profile analysis identified distinct higher- and lower-level subgroups for FoMO and PSMU.
- Network analyses revealed positive interconnections between FoMO and PSMU nodes, with overall network structure remaining stable.
- Temporal differences were minimal, primarily observed in the global strength of the PSMU network and specific node prominence.
Conclusions:
- The association between FoMO and PSMU is robust and stable over time.
- Subgroup and time-related variations are limited, with most changes occurring at the node level within a stable network structure.
- Findings underscore the persistent influence of FoMO on PSMU, suggesting a need for interventions addressing this core relationship.
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