Social media interference among college students: The role of social achievement goals and fear of missing out.

Background: Social media has become an integral part of college students' daily lives. However, concerns are growing that its use may trigger fear of missing out (FoMO), potentially leading students to neglect daily responsibilities and routines in academic, social, and physical domains, a phenomenon referred to as social media interference.

Aims: This study aimed to examine how online social achievement goals may contribute to understanding the detrimental link between FoMO and social media interference.

Sample: A total of 366 students (79.8% European American, 77.0% female), enrolled in educational psychology or education-related courses at a Midwestern U.S. university, voluntarily participated in this study.

Methods: A new measure was developed to assess social media interference, emphasizing functional impairment caused by social media use. Path analysis was conducted to test a mediation model in which social achievement goals predict social media interference, with FoMO serving as the mediator.

Results: Social development goals mitigated mild interference, while social demonstration-approach and social demonstration-avoidance goals were associated with both mild and severe interference via heightened FoMO. Additionally, social demonstration-approach goals had a direct link to severe interference. Controlling for time spent on social media, the results suggest that individuals with different social achievement goals may experience different levels of interference, even with comparable time spent online.

Conclusions: The current findings underscore the importance of discouraging social demonstration goals and fostering the goals to build authentic connections and nurture meaningful relationships on social media.