From online engagement to well-being: the mediating roles of social comparison and joy of missing out (JoMO)
Given the mixed evidence regarding the association between social media use and well-being, this study examines the psychological processes associated with this relationship, focusing on social comparison, the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), and the Joy of Missing Out (JoMO) as potential mediators. Drawn from Caplan’s (2003) Preference for Online Social Interaction (POSI) theory and grounded in Social Comparison Theory as an explanatory lens, we examine both maladaptive and adaptive psychological processes associated with social media engagement and well-being. In particular, we extend prior research dominated by the negative association of FoMO by also considering JoMO as a potential positive psychological response to digital disconnection. An online survey was administered to 707 social media users (57.6% women; MAge = 36.35, SD = 12.76, range = 18–84). The survey included measures of well-being, social comparison, social media engagement, FoMO, JoMO, and demographics. Using regression-based mediation analyses, we tested whether FoMO, JoMO, and social comparison account for the associations between social media engagement and well-being outcomes. Results showed that social media engagement was significantly associated with higher FoMO, higher social comparison, and lower JoMO. Social comparison was consistently and negatively associated with emotional, social, and psychological well-being, while JoMO was positively related to psychological well-being. Mediation analyses suggested indirect associations such that social comparison cross-sectionally mediated the relationship between social media engagement and all three dimensions of well-being. JoMO cross-sectionally mediated the relationship between social media engagement and psychological well-being. FoMO did not confer a significant mediating relationship in the present model. These findings highlight the central role of social comparison as a maladaptive correlate, and JoMO as a potential protective correlate, in understanding the complex associations between social media engagement and well-being.