Extraversion, neuroticism, attachment style and fear of missing out as predictors of social media use and addiction

• Published in: Personality and individual differences Vol. 116; pp. 69 - 72
• Main Authors: Blackwell, David, Leaman, Carrie, Tramposch, Rose, Osborne, Ciera, Liss, Miriam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Addictions; Addictive behaviors; Attachment style; Avoidance behavior; Extraversion; Fear & phobias; FOMO; Neuroticism; Personality traits; Social anxiety; Social media; Social media addiction; Social media use; Social networks; Neuroticism; Attachment style; Social media addiction; FOMO; Extraversion; Social media use
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.039

Social media use is prevalent in today's society and has contributed to problems with social media addiction. The goal of the study was to investigate whether extraversion, neuroticism, attachment style, and fear of missing out (FOMO) were predictors of social media use and addiction. Participants in the study (N=207) volunteered to complete a brief survey measuring levels of extraversion, neuroticism, attachment styles, and FOMO. In the final model of a hierarchical regression, younger age, neuroticism, and fear of missing out predicted social media use. Only fear of missing out predicted social media addiction. Attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted social media addiction, but this relationship was no longer significant after the addition of FOMO. •Fear of missing out predicted social media use and addiction.•Anxious and avoidant attachment predicted social media addiction.•Extraversion and Neuroticism predicted social media use.