More social media friends, more life satisfaction?– why fear of missing out leads to contrary effects

Fear of Missing Out is a focus of research in social sciences, especially with respect to social media use. This study examined the extent to which social media use (active and passive, respectively) elicits Fear of Missing Out due to greater perceived bridging and bonding social. In addition, the extent to which Fear of Missing Out affects feelings of stress and life satisfaction was investigated. In an online survey 1230 participants were included. Within the framework of a path model, the assumption of an indirect effect of both active and passive social media use via social capital, Fear of Missing Out, and stress on life satisfaction was confirmed. Finally, further study results as well as implications and limitations of this research are discussed.