Cross-Sectional Study on Relationships Among FoMO, Social Influence, Positive Outcome Expectancy, Refusal Self-Efficacy and SNS Usage

Objectives: Use of social networking sites (SNS; i.e., Facebook or Instagram) is common, and people use SNS to communicate and share information. Literature indicates the extent of SNS usage could be influenced by fear of missing out (FoMO). FoMO means a process of appraisal and psychological need for SNS use. This study proposes a model that integrates three determinants of social cognitive theory (SCT) to explain the impact of FoMO on SNS usage. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from 259 participants recruited from a website. Main Outcome Measures: The analysis focused on FoMO, social influence, positive outcome expectancy, refusal self-efficacy, and SNS-related behavior cloud-based sites. Data are examined using descriptive analysis and structural equation modeling. Results: The proposed model reported proper goodness of fit. FoMO did not directly or indirectly impact SNS usage through the determinants of SCT. However, social influence and refusal self-efficacy had a direct effect. Conclusions: The roles of the three determinants of SCT vary by stage of SNS usage. FoMO and refusal self-efficacy are more strongly related with SNS addiction. Further research, particularly longitudinal and intervention studies, is needed to examine the effects of specific factors on SNS addiction.