Exploring associations between social media addiction, social media fatigue, fear of missing out and sleep quality among university students: A cross-section study

Abstract

Background Social media use has been linked to poor sleep outcomes among university students in the cyber age, but the association between the negative consequences of social media use and sleep problems is not yet well understood. The present study investigated the relationships among social media usage, social media fatigue (SMF), fear of missing out (FoMO), social media addiction (SMA) and sleep quality in university students. Method An online survey was administered to 2744 respondents that included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); questionnaires evaluating FoMO, SMF, and SMA; and questions regarding sleep duration, social media use, health status, and demographic information. Result A total of 19.9% of respondents suffered from sleep disturbance. A total of 15.6% of participants had sleep durations less than 5 h, and 21.6% of subjects had sleep durations longer than 9 h. Sleep quality was positively associated with SMF (OR = 1.387, 95% CI: 1.103~1.743), and SMA (OR = 1.415, 95% CI: 1.118~1.791). The relationship between FoMO and sleep disturbance was not significant. Compared to a sleep duration > 9 h, SMF increased the risk of shorter sleep durations [5–6 h sleep (OR = 2.226, 95% CI: 1.132~4.375), 6–7 h sleep (OR = 1.458, 95% CI: 1.061~2.002), and 7–8 h sleep (OR = 1.296, 95% CI: 1.007~1.670)]. FoMO and SMA did not significantly affect sleep duration. In addition, SMA (OR = 3.775, 95% CI: 3.141~4.537), FoMO (OR = 3.301, 95% CI: 2.753~3.958), and sleep disorders (OR = 1.284, 95% CI: 1.006~1.638) increased SMF. Conclusion Upon experiencing negative consequences of social media use, such as SMF and SMA, university students were likely to experience sleep problems. Further research exploring the interventions that improve sleep and alleviate negative consequences of social media use should be conducted.

Investigating University Students Social Media Stalking Situations

“…Considering that students are the most active users of the Internet and have a high level of familiarity with and acceptance of new technologies (Sales et al, 2024), it can be inferred that social media usage is more prevalent among them. They prefer to choose a variety of social media platforms as their primary means of connecting with others (Zhu et al, 2023). Consequently, it can be argued that both engaging in social media stalking and being subjected to it are common occurrences among students.…”

Sex differences of neural connectivity in internet gaming disorder and its association with sleep quality: an exploratory fMRI study

“…A previous exploratory study found individuals with internet addiction suffer disproportionately from poor sleep, constituting about 60% of the surveyed demographic ( 29 ). Furthermore, post-social media usage disorders, such as social media fatigue and social media addiction, have been implicated in deteriorating sleep quality ( 30 ). Additionally, the level of sleep quality also affects the severity of an individual’s IGD.…”