Trapped online: a longitudinal mediation analysis of FoMO in the link between social media addiction and vicarious trauma.

Abstract

Wars, terrorist incidents or natural disasters not only cause physical destruction and loss of life, but can also create traumatic experiences that threaten individuals' psychological well-being. Research conducted in recent years in particular has shown that the psychological effects following disasters are not limited to those directly exposed, but that indirect witnessing can also cause psychological distress. Considering the prevalence of social media use worldwide, social media addiction, with its impulsivity and habit-forming components interacting with FoMo, exposes individuals to disaster content, increasing both the frequency and emotional intensity of exposure. Within this framework, to investigate the concepts of social media addiction, FoMo, and indirect trauma caused by exposure to traumatic content through the media, we collected data using a semi-longitudinal design from the same participants at three-month intervals (N = 220). The sample group's ages ranged from 18 to 43 [172 (78.2%) women and 48 (21.8%) men]. The mean age was calculated as 21.69 (SD = 2.51). Findings obtained using a cross-lagged panel model within a semi-longitudinal mediation framework to conduct the mediation test at two time points at three-month intervals revealed significant longitudinal relationships between variables and that FoMo played a longitudinal mediating role in the relationship between social media addiction and vicarious trauma. The results revealed the negative effects of social media addiction and FoMo on the indirect trauma that exposure to disasters through the media can cause.