A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science sheds light on the motivations behind social media use among self-centered individuals. Contrary to the long-standing belief that such individuals use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok primarily to boost their egos, the study finds that they turn to social media more out of a fear of missing out (FOMO) rather than a desire to reinforce their self-importance. Through a series of studies, the researchers concluded that self-centered individuals are driven by insecurity, as they use social media to mitigate their feelings of exclusion rather than to bolster their self-image.
The researchers conducted this study to challenge the conventional thinking that self-centered individuals use social media as a tool for self-promotion. Previous theories, such as self-construal theory, suggest that highly independent people (often self-centered) would be less prone to FOMO than those who are more interdependent and socially connected.
However, the researchers wanted to explore whether FOMO played a larger role in driving social media use among self-centered individuals than previously thought. The research was also inspired by the growing body of evidence suggesting that problematic social media use may be influenced by deeper psychological factors, such as fear and anxiety, rather than purely narcissistic tendencies.
“Given that social media is an excellent platform to ‘feed one’s ego,’ I am very interested in what drives people to use social media. My initial thoughts/hypotheses were confirmed in that there may be other reasons than simply feeding your ego that motivate people to use social media,” said study author James A. Roberts, the Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing in the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.
To explore this issue, the researchers conducted three separate studies. In the first study, they surveyed 199 U.S. adults, asking them about their levels of self-centeredness, FOMO, and social media use. Self-centeredness was measured using a three-item questionnaire that asked participants to rate how often they focus on themselves in conversations. FOMO was measured with a 10-item questionnaire that asked participants to agree or disagree with statements like “I fear my friends have more rewarding experiences than me.” Social media use was assessed by asking participants how much time they spent on various platforms each day and by using a scale that measured the intensity of their engagement with social media.
The results of this first study showed that self-centered individuals did, in fact, use social media more frequently, but the relationship between self-centeredness and social media use was fully mediated by FOMO. This means that it was the fear of missing out, rather than self-centeredness itself, that drove these individuals to spend more time online. The researchers used a statistical model to confirm this, demonstrating that once FOMO was accounted for, the direct relationship between self-centeredness and social media use disappeared.
In the second study, the researchers sought to replicate these findings by manipulating self-centeredness rather than simply measuring it. They recruited 241 adults and randomly assigned them to either a self-centeredness condition or a control group. Participants in the self-centeredness condition were asked to recall a recent time when they behaved selfishly, while those in the control group wrote about a typical day. Afterward, all participants completed the same FOMO and social media use questionnaires from the first study.
The results again showed that self-centeredness led to increased social media use, but only when FOMO was present. Those who were made to feel self-centered reported higher levels of FOMO, which in turn drove their social media use.
The third and final study took a slightly different approach by examining whether priming FOMO could weaken the relationship between self-centeredness and social media use. In this study, 102 adults were first asked to reflect on their level of self-centeredness and then either primed with a scenario designed to induce FOMO or placed in a control condition where they imagined feeling content while staying home.
The results revealed that when FOMO was primed, the relationship between self-centeredness and social media use disappeared. This suggests that FOMO is not just a mediator but also a key driver in the behavior of self-centered individuals when it comes to social media use.
“I have always been skeptical that highly self-centered people really think they are better than everyone else,” Roberts told PsyPost. “I think the present study results across a survey and two experiments provide compelling evidence that a lot of what self-centered might do is a function of inherent feelings of weakness or inadequacy.”
The researchers’ findings have significant implications because they contradict the long-standing assumption that self-centered individuals use social media to enhance their sense of self-importance. Instead, these individuals seem to approach social media from a place of vulnerability, using it as a coping mechanism to deal with their fear of being left out.
“I would like readers to understand that FOMO is a major driver of social media use and that self-centered individuals don’t only use social media to feed their egos but also from a ‘point of weakness,’” Roberts said. “This is a particularly important finding because it runs contrary to the long-standing theory of self-construal. Self-construal theory posits that highly interdependent individuals would be more likely to suffer from FOMO than highly independent (self-centered) individuals.”
However, the study is not without limitations. One limitation is that the data was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when many people were isolated and might have experienced heightened levels of FOMO due to limited social interactions. This could have influenced the results and made FOMO a more prominent factor in social media use than it might be under normal circumstances. Additionally, the study relied on self-reported data, which can be prone to biases, such as participants wanting to present themselves in a more socially desirable light.
“Like any research, this is simply one stone in the wall and additional research is needed to more fully understand the role self-centeredness plays in social media use,” Roberts noted.
Future research could address these limitations by investigating social media use in a post-pandemic context and by using more objective measures of social media activity. The researchers also suggest exploring how other psychological factors, such as anxiety or insecurity, may interact with FOMO to influence social media behavior. Understanding the full range of motivations behind social media use could help develop interventions for reducing problematic usage.
“A lot of what drives us to social media grows out of insecurities such as FOMO and that the majority of research in this area finds social media use has a largely negative association with well-being,” Roberts added. “Although, other research does suggest some positive associations with social media use and well-being. However, newer forms of social media, in particular short-form video (e.g., TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts), are associated with greater overuse and addiction. On a bigger scale, youth preoccupation with short-form video has undermined their ability to control their thoughts, emotions, and sustain behavior and attention which have potentially catastrophic implications for personal well-being and productivity for younger generations.”
The study, “Me, Myself, and I: Self-Centeredness, FOMO, and Social Media Use,” was authored by Meredith E. David and James A. Roberts.
