Research has suggested that social media usage increases during times of social isolation. However, rather than making users feel more connected to others, social media may cause negative mental health and relational outcomes, including a fear of missing out (FoMO). Against the backdrop of the global coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, this health communication study sought to understand the impact of physical and emotional isolation (i.e., prescribed social isolation) on people as we turned to social media more frequently. As the pandemic wore on, many remained online, watching people they knew “returning to normal,” potentially creating high levels of FoMO despite disagreeing with others’ decisions. This study examines whether social media use (frequency and purpose) influences individuals’ perception of the acceptability of others’ behavior, and whether those perceptions impact individuals’ own behavioral decisions. Participants (N = 459) from the United States were recruited from late 2021 to early 2022 to complete an anonymous online survey regarding the “acceptableness” of behavior shown in posts by friends and family. Results indicated that increased social media frequency was correlated with an increased sense of FoMO, which was significantly and positively associated with favorable perceptions of others’ behaviors, such as gathering indoors with others, even when public health officials discouraged it. However, FoMO was not significantly related to users’ personal intentions to follow public health recommendations. A post hoc analysis determined that fear of COVID-19 moderated the relationship between FoMO and the perception of others’ behavior, as well as the relationship between FoMO and behavioral intentions.

研究表明，在社交孤立期间，社交媒体的使用会增加。然而，社交媒体不仅不会让用户感觉与他人的联系更紧密，反而可能会导致负面的心理健康和人际关系结果，包括害怕错过 (FoMO)。在全球冠状病毒病 19 (COVID-19) 大流行的背景下，这项健康传播研究旨在了解当我们更频繁地转向社交媒体时，身体和情感隔离（即规定的社会隔离）对人们的影响。随着大流行的蔓延，许多人仍然在线，看着他们认识的人“恢复正常”，尽管不同意其他人的决定，但可能会造成高水平的 FoMO。本研究检验社交媒体的使用（频率和目的）是否会影响个人对他人行为可接受性的看法，以及这些看法是否会影响个人自己的行为决定。参加者（N  = 459) 于 2021 年底至 2022 年初从美国被招募，以完成一项关于朋友和家人在帖子中显示的行为“可接受性”的匿名在线调查。结果表明，社交媒体频率的增加与 FoMO 感的增加相关，这与对他人行为的良好看法呈显着正相关，例如与他人在室内聚会，即使公共卫生官员不鼓励这样做。然而，FoMO 与用户遵循公共卫生建议的个人意图没有显着相关。事后分析确定，对 COVID-19 的恐惧调节了 FoMO 与他人行为感知之间的关系，以及 FoMO 与行为意图之间的关系。