The Design of Social Media Platforms—Initial Evidence on Relations Between Personality, Fear of Missing Out, Design Element-Driven Increased Social Media Use, and Problematic Social Media Use

Abstract

While relations between certain personality traits and problematic social media use (PSMU) are well-acknowledged, mechanisms underlying these associations are mostly unclear. One putatively mediating variable in these relations is fear of missing out (FoMO). Moreover, certain design elements of social media platforms are suspected to lure users into spending increasing time on the platforms and into PSMU, accordingly. Thus far, however, (independent) empirical research on whether there are individual differences driving tendencies toward design element-driven increased social media use is barely existent. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirical research on whether these tendencies are related to PSMU. The present work was conducted to close these gaps. College students from the United States ( N = 446) completed scales on the Big Five personality traits, impulsivity, FoMO, and PSMU and indicated how often they spend more time on social media than intended due to design elements of social media platforms in an online survey. Results showed that individuals tend to use social media more frequently and time-intensively due to certain design elements. Such increased use was strongly positively related to PSMU. A cross-sectional path model revealed among others indirect positive associations of neuroticism and impulsivity with PSMU mediated via FoMO and design element-driven increased social media use. These results indicate that design elements of social media platforms could contribute to PSMU. Thus, a healthier design of such platforms must be discussed. Moreover, therapeutic interventions to reduce PSMU might profit from psychoeducation on strategies to prevent design element-driven increased social media use.