Using Social Media to Cope with Psychological Distress and Fear of Missing Out: The Role of Social Media Reward Expectancies in Social Media Addiction

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the degree to which social media addiction is associated with reward expectancies and psychological distress. A sample of 305 Australian participants (Mage = 33.75; 70.8% female) completed an anonymous online questionnaire measuring social media reward expectancies, psychological distress, fear of missing out (FoMO), social media engagement, and social media addiction. Social media engagement mediated the relationship between psychological distress and social media addiction and the relationship between FoMO and social media addiction. Social media reward expectancies mediated the relationship between psychological distress and social media addiction and the relationship between FoMO and social media addiction. Social media engagement and social media reward expectancies serially mediated the relationship between psychological distress and social media addiction and the relationship between FoMO and social media addiction. The study’s findings suggest that reward expectancies may play a role in the development of social media addiction.