Fear of Missing Out and Compulsive Social Media Use as Mediators Between OCD Symptoms and Social Media Fatigue

Alongside positive outcomes associated with social network sites, individuals can experience negative consequences from excessive use. The present research explores the tendency for individuals with nonclinical obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms to experience greater social media fatigue via fear of missing out and compulsive social media use. In Study 1, 339 participants (M-age = 22.29, SD = 5.64) completed the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, the Bergen Social Networking Addiction Scale, and a social media fatigue measure. In Study 2, 260 participants (M-age = 24.24, SD = 6.79) completed the prior measures in addition to the Fear of Missing Out scale. Individuals with higher levels of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms experienced greater fear of missing out, which predicted compulsive social media use, which predicted social media fatigue. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. Public Policy Relevance Statement Social media use has become a popular global phenomenon. OCD symptoms are prevalent in the general population and OCD symptoms predict compulsive social media use. The present study found that social media users from the general population with nonclinical OCD symptoms experienced greater fear of missing out on social information, which predicted compulsive social media use and social media fatigue, which is associated with reduced well-being. Therefore, individuals with nonclinical OCD symptoms may benefit from online tools to avoid compulsive social media use and corresponding negative consequences.