State phubbing fully mediates the relationship between state fear of missing out and time spent on social media

Smartphone users on average spend three hours a day on social media. Research shows that state fear of missing out (state FoMo) is a strong predictor of state phubbing, which is the fleeting reaction in which a smartphone user momentarily engages with their smartphone while he/she is having a face- to-face conversation with another person or persons. Research also shows that smartphone users most frequently used social media apps while phubbing others. However, less is known about the relationships among state FoMo, state phubbing, and Time Spent on Social Media (TSoSM). This study examined the relationships among state FoMo, state phubbing and TSoSM. Multiple regression of data collected from an online survey has revealed that state phubbing predicts TSoSM, when controlling for the effects of all other variables in the model, but more importantly, mediation analysis has revealed that state phubbing fully mediates the effect of state FoMo on TSoSM. Considering the negative effects
of state FoMo, state phubbing and TSoSM on social media users, understanding the relationships among these factors paves the way for efforts into helping people change harmful habits.