Fear of Missing Out, Social Media Addiction, and Personality Traits Among Nursing Students: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The growing use of social media has created concerns about addiction, and thus, it is necessary to explore how personality traits and fear of missing out (FOMO) can be utilized to predict social media addiction (SMA). Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between personality traits, FOMO, and SMA in university students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from nursing students using the shortened version of the big five inventory, fear of missing out scale, and SMA scale from May to September 2024. Results: The study achieved a response rate of 66.7% (414/620), finally including a total of 411 participants. The majority of participants (247/411, 60.1%) had low FOMO scores, while SMA scores showed a different pattern, with a larger proportion (261/411, 63.5%) of participants scoring in the moderate range. In terms of gender differences, male participants exhibited higher levels of FOMO (t=3.86, P