Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Acta Psychologica
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actpsy

On the association between personality, fear of missing out (FoMO) and

problematic social media use tendencies in European and Arabian samples
Sameha Alshakhsi a, *, Areej Babiker a, Christian Montag b, Raian Ali a, *
a
Division of Information and Computing Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
b
Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Recent meta-analytical evidence indicates a mild association between higher neuroticism and lower conscien­
Personality tiousness scores and a tendency towards problematic social media use (PSMU). However, fear of missing out
Neuroticism (FoMO) has emerged as a critical variable in understanding the positive link between neuroticism and PSMU.
Conscientiousness
Given the replication crisis in psychology, this study aimed to reinvestigate personality-PSMU associations and,
Fear of missing out
FoMO
crucially, the less-studied FoMO mediation effect. To ensure generalizability of the findings, we recruited two
Social media addiction diverse samples with European and Arabian backgrounds. The results revealed a significant total effect of
Social networks use disorder neuroticism on PSMU for both cultural groups, with the European sample demonstrating a fully mediated effect
Problematic social media use via FoMO, whereas the Arab sample showed a partially mediated effect via FoMO, along with a significant direct
effect. This study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the importance of FoMO as a mediator
between neuroticism and PSMU and some minor potential cultural differences in this association.

1. Introduction PSMU, characterized by excessive and obsessive tendencies towards

social media that interfere with daily activities, can lead to serious
Currently, nearly five billion people use social media/social network negative impacts on one's life and wellbeing including mental health
services (Dixon, 2022). Social media services provide users with the issues such as depression and anxiety (Andreassen et al., 2016; Yoon,
opportunity to build social capital and communicate globally (Gil de Kleinman, Mertz, & Brannick, 2019), reduced productivity (Cao & Yu,
Zúñiga, Jung, & Valenzuela, 2012). Despite the advantages of social 2019; Rozgonjuk, Sindermann, Elhai, & Montag, 2020), and poor sleep
media, the disadvantages of using platforms such as from Meta, Byte (Sümen & Evgin, 2021). Consequently, understanding the underlying
Dance, and Tencent have been discussed (Montag & Hegelich, 2020). As factors contributing to PSMU and how they relate to each other becomes
the most prominent social media services build on the data business important.
model (users pay for use allowance with their digital footprints), the A prominent model to understand how develop addictive tendencies
industry created via AB-testing highly immersive platforms with the aim towards social media platforms and other online content develop is the I-
of prolonging online time (Montag, Lachmann, Herrlich, & Zweig, PACE model (Brand, Young, Laier, Wölfling, & Potenza, 2016). In detail,
2019). However, this increased engagement can lead to excessive and this model describes complex Interactions between Person-Affect-
obsessive use, potentially manifesting problematic behavioral symp­ Cognition and Execution variables paving the way for addictive online
toms. In this context, a significant number of users develop addictive use behaviors. In the present study, the P-variable of the model is relevant,
tendencies towards social media platforms (Shannon, Bush, Villeneuve, which indicates that for instance the personality of a user contributes to
Hellemans, & Guimond, 2022). Concerns are growing regarding such being more vulnerable for experiencing PSMU tendencies. Utilizing the
usage styles of social media, and different terminologies such as prob­ Big-Five model (Rammstedt & John, 2007), a significant body of
lematic social media use (PSMU), social media addiction, and social research has highlighted the role of personality traits in how people use
networks use disorder have emerged. Although PSMU or other termi­ social media (Kircaburun, Alhabash, Tosuntaş, & Griffiths, 2020;
nologies are not officially recognized, high prevalence rates of PSMU Marengo, Poletti, & Settanni, 2020). The Big-Five model identifies five
have been observed in many countries (Cheng, Lau, Chan, & Luk, 2021). key personality traits: extraversion, which indicates the intensity of

* Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Alshakhsi), [email protected] (R. Ali).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104026
Received 25 May 2023; Received in revised form 30 August 2023; Accepted 6 September 2023
Available online 16 September 2023
0001-6918/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
S. Alshakhsi et al. Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

being outgoing and interactive; agreeableness, which identifies how

friendly and trusting the person is; neuroticism, which describes the Fear of
Missing Out
stability of emotion; openness, which measures how open to experience
the user is; and conscientiousness, which indicates that the person is
focused on goals and determined.
Among personality traits, neuroticism emerges as a significant risk
factor for PSMU, being the trait most frequently associated with it
(Marciano, Camerini, & Schulz, 2020). Additionally, a recent meta-
analysis provided insights that in particular (high) neuroticism and Neuroticism Problematic
(low) conscientiousness are robustly associated with PSMU tendencies Social Media Use

(Huang, 2022). The effect sizes, while in the mild area (neuroticism =
0.17; conscientiousness = − 0.15), highlight neuroticism as the strongest Fig. 1. This figure depicts the hypothesis that neuroticism and tendencies to­
predictor of PSMU. Individuals with high levels of neuroticism, char­ wards problematic social media use are positively associated and that this as­
acterized by frequently experiencing negative emotions, anxiety, and sociation is mediated by fear of missing out; in line with the work by
vulnerability to stress, may turn to social media excessively as a coping (Sindermann et al., 2021) we focused exclusively on this mediation.
mechanism, or for social support (Marciano, Camerini, & Schulz, 2022;
Michikyan, Subrahmanyam, & Dennis, 2014). For instance, studies have hypothesized that higher neuroticism would be associated with higher
revealed that neurotic users tend to use social media to pass time (Kir­ PSMU tendencies in both samples and FoMO would be a mediator in
caburun et al., 2020) and spend more time on platforms like Facebook both samples. Such an observation would speak for a generalizable
(Ryan & Xenos, 2011). Moreover, neurotic users tend to spend more effect.
time on social media also as a means to reduce loneliness, as neuroticism
is found to be associated with loneliness (Hughes, Rowe, Batey, & Lee, 2. Materials and methods
2012).
Further research suggests that personality-PSMU associations might 2.1. Participants and procedure
be mediated by fear of missing out (FoMO) (Sindermann, Yang, Liu,
Elhai, & Montag, 2021). FoMO is characterized by a pervasive feeling of The study recruited participants from European and Arab countries
anxiety and fear that others might be experiencing rewarding events or through Prolific (www.prolific.co) and Cint (www.cint.com) platforms.
opportunities in one's absence. It is a critical psychological process that The countries were selected based on similarities to each other accord­
has been associated with PSMU. FoMO can be exploited by the tech- ing to the grouping suggested by the World Values Survey, a large-scale
industry through design elements that prolong usage (Alutaybi et al., cross-national study that explores cultural, social, and political attitudes
2019). For instance, time restrictions on online-content together with and values worldwide (Inglehart et al., 2022). The survey for this study
reaching out via push notifications, could elicit FoMO and trigger users' was developed in English for the European sample and subsequently
sense of urgency to check their devices more regularly (Elhai, Yang, & translated into Arabic for the Arab sample. The translation was per­
Montag, 2020). Individuals with a high level of FoMO are more likely to formed by the authors who were proficient in both languages, following
react to the notifications and to spend more time online to ensure they the recommended back-translation process (Brislin, 1970).
are not missing out on any events or interactions, which could lead to Participants in each of the two surveys self-declared their proficiency
prolonged use of social media and excessive attachment to it, hence in the language of the survey - English for the European sample and
resulting in developing PSMU. Of note, FoMO has been also robustly and Arabic for the Arab sample. The survey included open-ended questions,
positively associated with neuroticism (Rozgonjuk, Sindermann, Elhai, which served as a measure of their ability to express themselves in the
& Montag, 2021). This is plausible as FoMO has been linked to anxiety survey languages. The survey also included attention checks which,
(Elhai et al., 2020), an emotion often related to neuroticism. Conse­ besides their primarily role in checking the participants' attentiveness,
quently, individuals with high neuroticism may be especially susceptible served also to check language proficiency as those have difficulty
to the anxieties of missing online activities. Additionally, The I-PACE comprehending the survey would likely fail to answer these attention
model highlights that predisposing factors, such as neuroticism, can checks. To assure that the survey is well understood and does not
influence PSMU through various emotional and cognitive responses, contain ambiguous or unclear words or expression, a pilot test using the
such as FoMO. think-aloud protocol was conducted with a small group of participants
As psychological sciences are in the aftermath of the so-called before the actual dissemination of the survey link.
replication crisis (Tackett, Brandes, King, & Markon, 2019), the pre­ The eligibility criteria for participants included being 18 years or
sent work revisits the question of how personality and PSMU are related, older, social media users, and fluent English speakers for European
and the seldom investigated mediating FoMO variable. In line with the participants or fluent Arabic speakers for Arab participants. Participants
work by Sindermann et al. (2021) we focus on the replication of the were given information about the study and asked to provide consent to
mediation effect of FoMO between neuroticism and PSMU tendencies. participate in the anonymous survey. Those who met the eligibility
Furthermore, as we recruited samples from two different cultural criteria and agreed to participate were given a link to the anonymous
backgrounds, the present work will help a) understand if the mediation questionnaire. Participants were free to stop answering the survey at any
model replicates across cultures and b) more deeply investigate the time. To ensure data quality, the survey included attention checks.
relationship between PSMU symptoms (hence item level of the PSMU Participants failing two or more attention checks were excluded from
questionnaire) and neuroticism. the dataset. Eligible participants were compensated for their participa­
The need to carry out a cross-cultural study as the present can also be tion. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of
theoretically grounded as follows: One critique often put forward is that Hamad Bin Khalifa University (QBRI-IRB-2023-2).
psychological studies rely too often on WEIRD samples (Henrich, Heine, The European dataset consisted of 262 participants (57.63 % male,
& Norenzayan, 2010), which means that investigated samples have aged 18–66) from Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Nor­
Western, Education, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic backgrounds. way, Sweden, and Switzerland. The participants represented a diverse
To test the robustness of the model depicted in Fig. 1, we collected two range of professions, with 64.9 % employed (including self-employed),
samples from different cultural backgrounds: Europeans and Arabians. 29 % students, and 6.1 % unemployed.
We aimed for n = 250 participants in each sample, as it has been shown For the Arab dataset, 251 participants were recruited (60.56 % male,
that correlations stabilize (Schönbrodt & Perugini, 2013). We aged 18–59) from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,

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S. Alshakhsi et al. Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, showed the relation between gender and age, on the one hand, and
Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen. The participants also represented a PSMU, on the other. Mediation analysis, using 5000 bootstrapping
diverse range of professions, with 67.73 % employed, 22.71 % students, resamples, was then conducted to examine whether the association be­
and 9.56 % unemployed participants. tween neuroticism and PSMU was mediated by FoMO separately for
each sample. Pearson correlation (Spearman correlation when neces­
2.2. Measures sary) was used to examine the association between PSMU symptoms, the
total score of PSMU, and FoMO. This was followed by mediation analysis
2.2.1. Demographic characteristics for each sample to explore the mediating role of FoMO between
Participants provided demographic information, including gender, neuroticism and PSMU symptoms. These analyses are presented in the
age, education level, profession, nationality, and country of residence. Supplementary material.

2.2.2. Problematic social media use (PSMU) 3. Results

PSMU was measured via both the original English version and the
translated Arabic version of the Social Media Disorder scale (SMD) (Van 3.1. Descriptive statistics
Den Eijnden, Lemmens, & Valkenburg, 2016). The scale consists of nine
items developed using the diagnostic criteria for Internet Gaming Dis­ Descriptive statistics of the participants are presented in Table 1. Our
order defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Dis­ sample included participants who used social media. A total of 513
orders (DSM-5) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The nine participants were included in the study. Among these, 262 were Euro­
items correspond to nine diagnostic criteria of SMD, including Preoc­ pean and 251 were Arab. Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics of the
cupation, Tolerance, Withdrawal, Persistence, Escape, Problems, study variables. Gender differences were found in PSMU, neuroticism,
Deception, Displacement, and Conflict. Each item was rated on a 5-point and FoMO in the European sample, and only in neuroticism in the Arab
Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Always). The score was the sum of re­ sample. Females in the European sample showed higher scores
sponses, with higher values indicating increased PSMU. The reliability compared to male regarding PSMU (MFemales = 22.54, SD = 6.55; MMales
of the scale in the present samples was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, = 20.54, SD = 7.95), FoMO (MFemales = 3.14, SD = 1.12; MMales = 2.78,
with α = 0.90 for the European sample and α = 0.85 for the Arab sample. SD = 1.22) and neuroticism (MFemales = 7.30, SD = 1.9; MMales = 5.74,
SD = 2.13). Female participants in the Arab sample showed higher
2.2.3. Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10) neuroticism scores compared to male participants (MFemales = 6.04, SD
The BFI-10, in both the original English version and the translated = 2.16; MMales = 5.40, SD = 2.11). In addition, the European sample
Arabic version, was used to measure personality traits. The scale uses 10 exhibited higher scores for PSMU symptoms among females, specifically
items on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly for Tolerance, Persistence, Displacement, and Escape. On the other
agree). The BFI-10 scale was developed and validated by Rammstedt and hand, in the Arab sample, only preoccupation showed significant gender
John (Rammstedt & John, 2007). The model measures five dimensions differences in favor of females (see Supplementary materials). The re­
of personality: extraversion indicates intensity of being outgoing and sults in Table 2 also show significant differences between the European
interactive, introverts which is the opposite of extraversion, agreeable­
ness identifies how friendly and trusting the person is, neuroticism in­
dicates the stability of emotion, openness measures how open to Table 1
experience the user is, and conscientiousness indicates that the person is Participant profile.
focused on goals and determined. The score for each dimension was Variables European Arab
calculated based on two of the ten questions. N (262) N (251)

Gender
2.2.4. Fear of missing out (FoMO) Male (%) 151 (57.63) 152 (60.56)
FoMO was assessed using a single-item scale developed and vali­ Female (%) 111 (42.37) 99 (39.44)
Age
dated by Benjamin et al. (2018). The original English version and the
M (SD) 29.16 (8.42) 31.24 (8.23)
translated Arabic version of the scale were used in our study. Partici­ Range 18–66 18–59
pants were asked to respond to the item: “Do you experience FoMO (the Employment (%)
fear of missing out)? FoMO refers to the fear of not being able to know Student 76 (29.00) 57 (22.71)
what is happening online and participate in it.” Responses were Employed/self-employed 170 (64.89) 170 (67.73)
Not employed 16 (6.11) 24 (9.56)
measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “1 = Not at all true of
Education (%)
me” to “5 = Extremely true of me.” A higher score indicates greater fear Primary school graduation 1 (0.38) 1 (0.40)
of missing out. Junior high school graduation 4 (1.53) 4 (1.59)
Graduated from high school 62 (23.66) 21 (8.37)
Studying for a bachelor's degree 68 (25.96) 33 (13.15)
2.3. Statistical analysis
Graduated from a bachelor's degree 55 (20.99) 106 (42.23)
Studying for a master's degree 20 (7.63) 21 (8.37)
The data were analyzed using JASP version 0.17.1 (JASP Team, Graduated from a master's degree 47 (17.94) 43 (17.13)
2022). The scales assessing PSMU, personality traits, and FoMO Studying for doctoral degree 2 (0.76) 15 (5.97)
exhibited skewness and kurtosis of less than ±2 (Curran, West, & Finch, Graduated from doctoral degree 3 (1.15) 7 (2.79)
Often spend too much time on social media (%)
1996). Therefore, the normality assumption was not violated. Accord­ Never 10 (3.82) 11 (4.38)
ingly, we adopted a parametric approach. One of the PSMU symptoms, Rarely 25 (9.54) 28 (11.16)
namely Conflict, had skewness and kurtosis larger than +2, therefore, Sometimes 77 (29.39) 120 (47.81)
Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's correlation were adopted for this Very often 120 (45.8) 70 (27.89)
Almost always 30 (11.45) 22 (8.76)
particular case.
Happiness with the time spent on social media (%)
Descriptive analysis summarizes the social demographic character­ Very unhappy 25 (9.54) 21 (8.37)
istics. The t-test (Welch's t-test when necessary) was used to analyze Fairly unhappy 104 (39.70) 55 (21.91)
gender differences and Pearson correlations to compute associations Neither happy, nor unhappy 75 (28.63) 76 (30.28)
with age, to test whether gender and age should be treated as control Fairly happy 39 (14.88) 78 (31.07)
Very happy 19 (7.25) 21 (8.37)
variables in the mediation analysis. Additionally, previous studies

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S. Alshakhsi et al. Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

Table 2
Descriptive statistics of PSMU, Personality traits, and FoMO with gender differences.
European sample Arab sample Differences between
the two samples

Total Male Female Gender differences Total Male Female Gender differences Total sample
sample (151) (111) sample (152) (99) (N = 513)
(N = (N =
262) 251)

PSMU 21.39 20.54 22.54 t(256.61) = − 2.23a, p 21.11 20.72 21.71 t(249.00) = − 1.18, p = t(506.87) = 0.46a, p =
(7.44) (7.95) (6.55) = .027, d = − 0.27 (6.51) (6.59) (6.38) .240 .648
d = − 0.15 d = 0.04
FoMO 2.93 2.78 3.14 t(260.00) = − 2.40, p = 2.24 2.30 2.15 t(249.00) = 0.92, p = t(511.00) = 6.32, p <
(1.19) (1.22) (1.12) .017, d = − 0.30 (1.28) (1.32) (1.20) .360, .001
d = 0.12 d = 0.56
Extraversion 5.05 5.05 5.05 t(260.00) = − 0.00, p = 5.95 5.97 5.93 t(249.00) = 0.17, p = t(503.55) = − 5.43a, p
(2.02) (2.09) (1.94) .997, d = − 0.00 (1.72) (1.73) (1.70) .865, d = 0.02 < .001
d = − 0.48
Agreeableness 7.00 6.86 7.18 t(260.00) = − 1.44, p = 6.71 6.58 6.91 t(249.00) = − 1.51, p = t(511.00) = 1.87, p =
(1.78) (1.86) (1.65) .152, d = − 0.18 (1.70) (1.68) (1.72) .133, d = − 0.20 .063
d = 0.17
Conscientiousness 6.46 6.41 6.53 t(260.00) = − 0.55, p = 7.16 7.13 7.22 t(249.00) = − 0.42, p = t(511.00) = − 4.44, p
(1.77) (1.83) (1.69) .586, d = − 0.07 (1.81) (1.79) (1.83) .677, d = − 0.05 < .001
d = − 0.39
Neuroticism 6.40 5.74 7.30 t(260.00) = − 6.10, p < 5.65 5.40 6.04 t(249.00) = − 2.33, p = t(511.00) = 3.92, p <
(2.18) (2.13) (1.9) .001, d = − 0.76 (2.15) (2.11) (2.16) .021, d = − 0.30 .001
d = 0.35
Openness 7.60 7.11 8.25 t(253.19) = − 5.05a, p 7.20 7.11 7.33 t(249.00) = − 1.03, p = t(508.05) = 2.49a, p =
(1.93) (1.95) (1.69) < .001, d = − 0.63 (1.71) (1.67) (1.761) .302, .013
d = − 0.13 d = 0.22

Gender differences using t-test and Cohen's d.

a
Welch (appropriate t-tests were chosen according to Levene's test results).

and Arab samples regarding FoMO (MEuropean = 2.93, SD = 1.19; MArab variables of neuroticism and FoMO in both European and Arab samples
= 2.24, SD = 1.28) and neuroticism (MEuropean = 6.40, SD = 2.18; MArab (see Supplementary materials). Additionally, given the observed corre­
= 5.65, SD = 2.15). The Arab sample had significantly higher scores in lation between conscientiousness, PSMU, and FoMO, we conducted an
conscientiousness and extraversion and significantly lower score in additional FoMO model for this variable. As the objective of this paper is
openness. However, there were no significant difference between the to replicate the study in (Sindermann et al., 2021), the outcomes of this
two samples with regard to PSMU and agreeableness. additional analysis are available in the Supplementary materials.

3.2. Correlational analyses 3.3. Mediating effect of FoMO

Of the variables of interest, Pearson's correlation showed a signifi­ The mediating role of FoMO in the relationship between neuroticism
cant association between PSMU and the variables of neuroticism and and PSMU, as well as its symptoms, was investigated in both European
FoMO in both European and Arab samples. Age was associated with and Arab samples separately. The potential effects of age and gender
PSMU, FoMO, and neuroticism in the European sample only. The cor­ were controlled for by partialling out these variables in the analysis.
relations between all the variables are presented in Table 3. The results For the European sample, the mediation model results showed a
also showed significant correlation between PSMU items and the significant total effect of neuroticism on PSMU (β = 0.18, SE = 0.07, p =

Table 3
Pearson correlations between PSMU, personality traits, FoMO, and age in both samples.
Variable PSMU FoMO EXT AGR CON NER OPE Age

0.45*** 0.06 0.01 − 0.21*** 0.30*** 0.01 − 0.11

PSMU –
(<.001) (0.347) (0.843) (<.001) (<.001) (0.929) (0.080)
0.58*** 0.18** − 0.10 − 0.14* 0.28*** 0.09 − 0.09
FoMO (<.001) – (.005) (.120) (.022) (<.001) (0.146) (0.162)
0.03 0.06 0.04 − 0.02 − 0.08 0.18** − 0.10
Extraversion (EXT) (0.671) (0.357) – (0.523) (0.806) (0.216) (.004) (0.113)
0.09 0.02 0.21*** 0.20** − 0.20** − 0.18** 0.16*
Agreeableness (AGR) (0.167) (0.707) (<.001) – (.001) (.001) (.004) (.013)
− 0.13* − 0.15* 0.16** 0.07 − 0.33*** 0.01 0.27***
Conscientiousness (CON) (.036) (.018) (.009) (0.252) – (<.001) (0.886) (<.001)
0.23*** 0.26*** − 0.29*** − 0.13* − 0.18** 0.07 − 0.06
Neuroticism (NER) –
(<.001) (<.001) (<.001) (.034) (.003) (0.271) (0.332)
0.03 0.06 0.08 0.13* 0.11 0.15* − 0.07
Openness (OPE) –
(0.586) (0.364) (0.212) (.033) (0.085) (.017) (0.276)
− 0.17** − 0.20*** 0.12 0.00 0.18** − 0.30*** 0.01
Age –
(.005) (<.001) (0.053) (0.947) (.004) (<.001) (0.926)

European sample is presented below the diagonal, Arab sample is presented above the diagonal.
*
p < .05.
**
p < .01.
***
p < .001.

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S. Alshakhsi et al. Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

.006). However, the direct effect was not significant (β = 0.07, SE = comparing data from two distinct cultural backgrounds, European and
0.06, 95 % CI [− 0.04, 0.17], p = .235). By contrast, the indirect effect of Arab, we aim to shed light on the potential generalizability of our
FoMO was significant (β = 0.11, SE = 0.04, 95 % CI [0.04, 0.20], p = findings across various cultures.
.002). These findings indicate that FoMO fully mediated the effect of Initially, the study verified the association between variables of in­
neuroticism on PSMU (Fig. 2). terest. The results revealed a positive association between neuroticism
In the Arab sample, the mediation model results showed a significant and PSMU in both the groups. This positive association was consistent
total effect of neuroticism on PSMU (β = 0.28, SE = 0.06, 95 % CI [0.15, with previous studies (Blackwell, Leaman, Tramposch, Osborne, & Liss,
0.42], p < .001), a significant direct effect (β = 0.17, SE = 0.06, 95 % CI 2017; Sindermann, Elhai, & Montag, 2020). Neuroticism is described by
[0.04, 0.30], p = .004), and a significant indirect effect via FoMO (β = emotional instability, anxiety, and negative affect and has been linked to
0.11, SE = 0.03, 95 % CI [0.06, 0.19], p < .001). These findings indicate a heightened vulnerability to addictive behaviors, including social
that FoMO partially mediated the effect of neuroticism on PSMU (Fig. 2). media addiction (Kuss & Griffiths, 2011). One possible explanation for
this association is that individuals with high neuroticism may use social
3.4. Mediating effect of FoMO considering neuroticism and symptoms of media as a means of coping with their negative feelings, seeking reas­
problematic social media use surance and social support through online interactions (Marciano et al.,
2022; Michikyan et al., 2014). In line with our findings, an association
As shown in Table 4, in the European sample, the mediation model between neuroticism and problematic social media use has been
for the symptoms of PSMU (assessed using the SMD scale) showed that observed across diverse populations and cultural contexts (Mak, Scheer,
the associations between neuroticism and each PSMU symptom (With­ Yeh, Ohno, & Nam, 2021), highlighting the importance of considering
drawal, Tolerance, Persistence) were fully mediated by FoMO. The as­ personality factors when addressing PSMU.
sociations between neuroticism and each PSMU symptom of Furthermore, the European sample had significantly higher neurot­
Preoccupation, and Escape were partially mediated by FoMO. icism and FoMO scores than the Arab sample; however, the difference in
A non-significant total effect and direct effect of neuroticism on the total PSMU between the two samples was not significant. The lack of a
PSMU symptoms of Displacement, Problem, Deception, and Conflict significant difference in total PSMU between the European and Arab
were observed. These results indicate that the overall relationships be­ samples, despite differences in neuroticism levels, suggests that PSMU
tween the variables are weak or non-existent. However, the indirect behavior may not be solely influenced by cultural factors. Instead, it
effect of the neuroticism on each of Displacement, Problem, Deception, could imply that PSMU behavior is similar across cultures, with other
and Conflict through FoMO was found to be significant, suggesting that factors such as individual personality traits and FoMO playing a more
the mediator plays an important role in explaining the relationship be­ significant role in shaping this behavior. It's also plausible that culture
tween these variables. The non-significant direct effect indicates that could act as a confounding or moderating factor, affecting the associa­
there is no direct pathway between the variables of interest when ac­ tions between personality traits, FoMO, and PSMU tendencies. This
counting for FoMO. could suggest that while the influence of personality traits and FoMO on
In the Arab sample, the mediation model results in Table 5 for the PSMU behavior appears to be consistent across cultures, the strength
symptoms of PSMU show that the associations between neuroticism and and direction of these associations could be modulated by cultural fac­
each PSMU symptom (Withdrawal, Problem, Deception, Escape, and tors. It's worth noting that other factors could also be of importance for
Conflict) were fully mediated by FoMO. The association between explaining the differences in findings. For instance, although age and
neuroticism and each PSMU symptom (Preoccupation, Tolerance, gender distributions were comparable in both samples, more students
Persistence, and Displacement) was partially mediated by FoMO. were observed in the European sample compared to the Arab sample.
The results also revealed a significant association between FoMO and
4. Discussion PSMU, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Beyens,
Frison, & Eggermont, 2016; Dempsey, O'Brien, Tiamiyu, & Elhai, 2019),
The pervasive influence of social media in diverse cultural contexts and (Rozgonjuk et al., 2020). FoMO, the fear that others might experi­
necessitates a deeper exploration of the psychological processes and ence rewarding events or opportunities without you, has been associated
motivations driving its problematic usage (LaRose, Connolly, Lee, Li, & with PSMU (Alutaybi, Al-Thani, McAlaney, & Ali, 2020; Przybylski,
Hales, 2014). This study adopts a cross-cultural approach to revisit and Murayama, Dehaan, & Gladwell, 2013) and has been identified as a
investigate the mediating role of FoMO in the relationship between predictor of PSMU (Franchina, Vanden Abeele, van Rooij, Lo Coco, & De
neuroticism and problematic social media use tendencies (PSMU). By Marez, 2018). One explanation for this association is that individuals

Fig. 2. Mediation model between neuroticism and PSMU through FoMO, using 5000 bootstrapping resamples; (c) Total effect, (c′) Direct effect; gender and age are
confounders; * p < .05; ** p < .001.

5
S. Alshakhsi et al. Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

Table 4
Mediation model between neuroticism and problematic social media use symptoms through FoMO in European sample.
European sample

Predictor–mediator PSMU symptom Direct effects Indirect effects Total effects

β SE p β SE p β SE p
[95 % CI] z-Value [95 % CI] z-Value [95 % CI] z-Value

Neuroticism-FoMO Preoccupation 0.14 0.06 .020 0.10 0.03 .003 0.24 0.07 <.001
[0.02, 0.26] 2.32 [0.03, 0.17] 2.97 [0.09, 0.37] 3.57

Tolerance 0.11 0.06 0.09 0.03 0.20 0.07

.079 .003 .003
[− 0.02, 0.23] 1.76 [0.03, 0.16] 2.94 [0.05, 0.34] 2.99

Withdrawal 0.06 0.06 0.11 0.04 0.17 0.07

.274 .003 .011
[− 0.05, 0.18] 1.09 [0.03, 0.18] 3.01 [0.03, 0.30] 2.55

Persistence 0.06 0.06 0.09 0.03 0.15 0.07

.348 .003 .026
[− 0.07, 0.18] 0.94 [0.03, 0.16] 2.94 [0.01, 0.29] 2.23

Escape 0.14 0.06 0.08 0.03 0.22 0.06

.017 .004 <.001
[0.02, 0.27] 2.39 [0.03, 0.14] 2.90 [0.09, 0.35] 3.50
0.02 0.06 0.08 0.03 0.10 0.07
Displacement .785 .004 .138
[− 0.10, 0.14] 0.27 [0.03, 0.14] 2.87 [− 0.04, 0.23] 1.48
− 0.05 0.06 0.09 0.03 0.05 0.07
Problem .466 .003 .498
[− 0.17, 0.08] − 0.73 [0.03, 0.16] 2.93 [− 0.09, 0.18] 0.68
− 0.02 0.07 0.07 0.03 0.05 0.07
Deception .760 .006 .483
[− 0.15, 0.10] − 0.31 [0.02, 0.13] 2.73 [− 0.08, 0.17] 0.70
− 0.02 0.07 0.07 0.02 0.05 0.07
Conflicta .748 .007 .509
[− 0.14, 0.10] − 0.32 [0.02, 0.13] 2.71 [− 0.07, 0.16] 0.66

Full mediator.

Partial mediator.

a
The normality assumption was violated for the Conflict symptom where the skewness and kurtosis were above 2 in the European sample. The model was performed
using 5000 bootstrapping resamples.

Table 5
Mediation model between neuroticism and problematic social media use symptoms through FoMO in Arab sample.
Arab sample

Predictor–mediator PSMU symptom Direct effects Indirect effects Total effects

β SE p β SE p β SE p
[95 % CI] z-Value [95 % CI] z-Value [95 % CI] z-Value

Preoccupation 0.14 0.06 0.10 0.03 0.24 0.06

.019 <.001 <.001
[0.02, 0.27] 2.35 [0.06, 0.16] 3.68 [0.11, 0.38] 3.94

Tolerance 0.13 0.06 0.08 0.02 0.21 0.06

.040 .001 <.001
[0.01, 0.26] 2.06 [0.04, 0.14] 3.24 [0.08, 0.35] 3.35

Withdrawal 0.09 0.06 0.08 0.02 0.17 0.06

.143 .002 .007
[− 0.05, 0.22] 1.47 [0.04, 0.14] 3.18 [0.04, 0.30] 2.71

Persistence 0.13 0.06 0.06 0.02 0.19 0.06

.042 .008 .003
[− 0.01, 0.26] 2.04 [0.02, 0.11] 2.66 [0.06, 0.31] 3.02

Displacement 0.20 0.06 0.08 0.02 0.28 0.06

Neuroticism-FoMO <.001 .001 <.001
[0.07, 0.33] 3.32 [0.04, 0.14] 3.25 [0.15, 0.41] 4.62

Problem 0.12 0.06 0.07 0.02 0.18 0.06

.071 .004 .004
[− 0.02, 0.25] 1.81 [0.02, 0.13] 2.87 [0.05, 0.31] 2.89

Deception 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.02 0.12 0.06

.443 .002 .051a
[− 0.08, 0.19] 0.77 [0.03, 0.15] 3.08 [− 0.01, 0.26] 1.95

Escape 0.10 0.06 0.08 0.02 0.17 0.06

.121 .002 .005
[− 0.04, 0.23] 1.55 [0.04, 0.14] 3.14 [0.04, 0.30] 2.78
Conflict
0.08 0.06 0.09 0.03 0.16 0.06
.228 <.001 .009
[− 0.06, 0.21] 1.21 [0.04, 0.16] 3.41 [0.03, 0.31] 2.60

Full mediator.

Partial mediator.
The model was performed using 5000 bootstrapping resamples.
a
Marginally significant.

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S. Alshakhsi et al. Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

experiencing FoMO may be more likely to engage in the excessive use of on internal experiences, goals, and behaviors rather than on social or
social networks to stay constantly connected, updated, and informed external interactions (Hofstede, 2001).
about their other's activities (Beyens et al., 2016). Moreover, social Regarding the Arab sample, FoMO showed a significant mediating
networks platforms design triggers and feeds FoMO by employing role between neuroticism and all nine symptoms. Unlike the European
various features, such as notifications and real-time information, that sample, the mediation model of the Arab sample showed full mediation
keep users constantly engaged and attached to their devices (Alutaybi for the symptoms related to external factors such as Conflict, Deception,
et al., 2019; Alutaybi, Arden-Close, et al., 2019) This interplay between and Problems. This difference can be attributed to cultural differences;
FoMO and social media platform design can create a reinforcing cycle, people in collectivist cultures pay more attention to external processes in
making it difficult for individuals to disengage from social media, determining their social behavior (Triandis, 2001); therefore, they pri­
potentially leading to addictive behaviors (Fioravanti et al., 2021). oritize social relationships and place greater emphasis on maintaining
The main findings of the two-mediation model revealed that FoMO harmony and interdependence within their communities (LaRose et al.,
played a significant mediating role in both samples. Our results are 2014). This contrasts with individuals from individualistic cultures who
consistent with previous research that examined the FoMO mediation may prioritize personal autonomy and independence. One example of
effect between neuroticism and problematic use of WeChat (Sindermann this cultural difference can be observed in Arab culture, where there is
et al., 2021). This alignment strengthens evidence supporting the strong concern about the opinions of others and how one's actions and
mediating role of FoMO in the relationship between neuroticism and the social media posts are perceived (Al Lily et al., 2023).
problematic use of social media. The tendency of neurotics to experience This study contributes to the existing body of literature by investi­
negative emotions such as stress makes them more likely to experience gating the generalizability of the FoMO mediation effect across different
FoMO which is associated with the amount of stress when using social cultural contexts by comparing two distinct cultural samples from Eu­
media (Adams et al., 2017). To cope with this stress, more social media ropean and Arab countries. Our cross-cultural examination adds
use occurs, putatively leading to problematic use of social media. credence to the notion that FoMO plays an important factor in under­
Interestingly, our two-mediation model also revealed cultural differ­ standing the association between neuroticism and problematic social
ences in the mediation effect of FoMO. In the European sample, FoMO media use (tendencies), regardless of one's cultural background. It sug­
fully mediated the relationship between neuroticism and PSMU, indi­ gests that strategies that aim to manage FoMO or reduce its triggers
cating that FoMO could be a significant factor influencing the devel­ could potentially be effective in controlling PSMU, particularly in in­
opment of PSMU among individuals with high neuroticism. However, in dividuals with high neuroticism. This could be especially significant in
the Arab sample, FoMO only partially mediated the relationship be­ the European contexts, where FoMO fully mediated the relationship
tween neuroticism and PSMU. The direct effect of neuroticism on PSMU between neuroticism and PSMU. This finding implies that the effect of
was still significant, indicating that neuroticism has a direct influence on neuroticism on PSMU may be influenced by culture factors. However, it
PSMU behaviors in the Arab sample, independent of FoMO. It's possible is important to acknowledge that this study has some limitations that
that cultural factors contribute to this difference, as people in more may influence its outcomes. The self-report method used in this study
industrialized societies, like those found in Europe, may face more so­ could be a potential limitation, as participants may not have accurately
cietal and occupational demands that require effective personal and rated their own social media usage or feelings of FoMO. Furthermore,
emotional management, potentially lessening the influence of neuroti­ this study may not have considered other factors that could affect the
cism on PSMU. association between neuroticism and PSMU such as environmental
The descriptive statistics in Table 3 showed that both samples factors. It is worth noting that cultural differences are more complex
exhibited the highest mean values for the symptoms of Persistence and than what was measured in this study, and other cultural factors could
Escape compared with the other seven symptoms. Moreover, the Euro­ potentially influence the relationship between neuroticism and PSMU.
pean sample showed a significant increase in these symptoms compared It's worth noting that while FoMO is closely linked with social media use,
with the Arab sample. These findings highlight that these two symptoms we did not explicitly account for the specific characteristics of the social
were more prevalent in our samples. Persistence suggests that in­ media platforms used by our different cultural samples. Different plat­
dividuals have reached a problematic level of use that they wish to forms possess distinct features and user experiences, which might have
discontinue but are unable to do so. Conversely, Escape involves an impact on the findings. For instance, a previous study found associ­
engaging in social media use as a means of forgetting about real-life ations between FoMO and platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Insta­
problems or escaping from negative emotional states (Petry et al., 2014). gram, yet no associations were observed with platforms like LinkedIn or
This study further examined the role of FoMO in mediating the Pinterest (Abel, Buff, & Burr, 2016). Future work could delve deeper into
relationship between neuroticism and the symptoms of PSMU across understanding the implications of these platform-specific characteris­
both European and Arab samples. The results showed that the European tics. Additionally, while our study employed the Big-5 personality traits
sample exhibited a significant mediating role of FoMO between measure, there are other relevant traits worth exploring. For instance,
neuroticism and PSMU in five out of the nine symptoms of PSMU, with narcissism, which is part of the Dark Triad (Paulhus & Williams, 2002),
full mediation of FoMO being found between neuroticism and With­ where individuals with unfulfilled social desires and needs, may be
drawal, Tolerance, and Persistence, and partial mediation being found susceptible to FoMO and are likely to engage in PSMU (Casale, Fior­
between neuroticism and Preoccupation and Escape. However, for the avanti, & Rugai, 2016; Elhai et al., 2020). Regret tendency, another
remaining four symptoms, including Conflict, Deception, Problems, and personality trait in which individuals often experience feelings of
Displacement, the model did not show significant total or direct effects, negative emotions over choices not made or opportunities missed, was
indicating that the mediation role of FoMO between neuroticism and found in the literature to be positively associated with FoMO (Ni, Xie,
these specific PSMU symptoms was not statistically significant. This Lin, & Jian, 2022). Future studies might benefit from incorporating such
finding can be interpreted by considering the characteristics of these traits across different cultural contexts for a more comprehensive
symptoms, which have external consequences or interplay with external analysis.
factors (Conflict was considered an external consequence when
addressing Internet addiction (Van Rooij & Prause, 2014) and problems
(Van Den Eijnden et al., 2016)). In societies high in individualism, like Declaration of competing interest
the European, symptoms associated with external factors may be less
concerning compared to symptoms such as Tolerance, Escape, and All authors declare that they have no known competing financial
Preoccupation that are more related to the person internal factors. It interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
could be due to the individuals' tendency in these societies to focus more the work reported in this paper.

7
S. Alshakhsi et al. Acta Psychologica 240 (2023) 104026

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