A Study Of The Relationship Between Upward Social Comparison And Social Media Use

As users’ reliance on mobile social media gradually increases,people live in an almost permanently connected,always-on world,and the resulting corresponding behavioral patterns of network use inevitably affect people’s psychological well-being and personal happiness.Social comparisons are prevalent in our daily lives,and in social media platforms,individuals are constantly confronted with massive amounts of information about others and unconsciously compare these dynamic contents with themselves,and negatively influence their psychology and behavior.However,when this convenient and continuous connection is interrupted,people tend to develop a fear of missing important events,i.e.,fear of missing out.Fear of missing out as a negative psychological effect of social media use and the intensity of social media use as a behavioral outcome are complexly related to social comparison.Therefore,this study attempted to explore the relationship between upward social comparison and individual psychology of fear of missing out and intensity of social media use in the mobile social media environment,and to introduce individual types of self-construal to discuss the variability of this relationship and impact.In Study 1,490 subjects were surveyed using questionnaires administered using the Upward Social Comparison Scale,the Missed Anxiety Scale,the Self-Construction Scale,and the Intensity of Social Media Use Questionnaire.The results showed that(1)upward social comparison had a significant positive predictive effect on fear of missing out;(2)both upward social comparison and fear of missing out had a significant positive predictive effect on social media use,and the effect of fear of missing out on social media use was slightly higher than that of upward social comparison;(3)upward social comparison indirectly predicted social media use intensity through the partially mediating effect of fear of missing out;(4)self-construal moderated the relationship between upward social comparison and social media use;(5)self-construal moderated the first half of the path in which upward social comparison influenced the intensity of social media use through fear of missing out.Study 2 used 42 social media users as subjects with a 2(social comparison tendency: upward social comparison,downward social comparison)× 2(self-construal type: dependent self-construal,independent self-construal)between-subjects design,aiming to reveal the effects of different orientations of social comparison and selfconstrual on fear of missing out and intensity of social media use.The results revealed that(1)subjects in the upward social comparison group had significantly higher levels of fear of missing out than those in the downward social comparison group.(2)Subjects in the upward social comparison group had significantly higher intensity of social media use than those in the downward social comparison group.(3)The interaction effect of social comparison and self-construal on fear of missing out was significant.Specifically,the positive predictive effect of upward social comparison on fear of missing out was stronger for individuals with dependent constructs compared to independent constructs.(4)The interaction effect of social comparison and self-construal on the intensity of social media use was not significant.In summary,this study explored the influential mechanisms between upward social comparison,fear of missing out,self-construction,and intensity of social media use,providing some theoretical references for research in related fields,possessing some practical significance,and providing inspiration for future intervention mechanisms for non-adaptive psychological and behavioral emergence due to social media use.