Examine of social media use in terms of family communication and fear of missing out (FOMO)

The purpose of this study is to evaluate high school students social media use in terms of family communication and fear of missing out (FoMO) on developments. This study was conducted using a quantitative research design with a correlational survey model. The study group was determined by convenience sampling; 834 high school students attending school in a district of Tokat province during the 2023-2024 academic year comprised the study group. To measure student's levels of social media use, the Social Media Usage Purposes Scale (Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient = 0.89) was used. To measure the level of family communication affected by social media use, the Scale for Determining the Effect of Social Media Usage on Family Communication (Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient = 0.84) was applied. To assess fear of missing out on developments in social environments, the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) Scale (Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient = 0.82) was utilized. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation values and parametric analysis methods such as independent samples t-test, one-way anova, pearson r correlation coefficient and linear regression were used to answer the research questions. When examining the findings of this study, it is observed that the level of social media use among female students is higher than that of male students; as the time spent on social media increases, the level of social media use, the level of FoMO, and the level of intra-family communication problems also increase. According to gender, female students FoMO levels are higher than those of male students; it is also observed that as student's social media usage time increases, their FoMO levels increase as well. Among the students whose most preferred social media platforms are Instagram and TikTok, the levels of FoMO and social media usage are higher compared to those who prefer YouTube. There is no significant difference in FoMO levels or intra-family communication levels according to the educational levels of the student's mothers and fathers. As a result of the study, it is seen that there is a moderate, positive, linear relationship between high school student's levels of social media use and their levels of FoMO.