Social Media Engagement and Fear of Missing Out as Predictors of Sleep Quality

Objective: This study aimed to investigate social media engagement and fear of missing out (FoMO) as predictors of sleep quality among Armenian adults. Methods and Materials: A descriptive correlational design was employed, including 350 Armenian participants aged 18-30 years, selected through convenience sampling based on Morgan and Krejcie’s sample-size guidelines. Standardized instruments were utilized: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse et al., 1989) assessed sleep quality, the Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (Przybylski et al., 2013) measured social media engagement, and the Fear of Missing Out Scale (Przybylski et al., 2013) evaluated FoMO. Pearson correlation coefficients examined relationships between the variables, and linear regression analysis identified predictors of sleep quality using SPSS-27, adhering to assumption checks. Findings: Descriptive analysis indicated moderate sleep disturbances (M = 12.45, SD = 4.21), frequent social media engagement (M = 23.87, SD = 5.36), and high FoMO levels (M = 32.56, SD = 6.12). Pearson correlation analyses showed significant positive correlations between poor sleep quality and both social media engagement (r = .47, p < .01) and FoMO (r = .62, p < .01). Regression analysis revealed that these predictors significantly explained 35% of the variance in sleep quality scores (R² = .35, adjusted R² = .34; F(2, 347) = 92.13, p < .01). In multivariate regression, social media engagement (β = .27, p < .01) and FoMO (β = .56, p < .01) significantly predicted poorer sleep quality, with FoMO identified as the stronger predictor. Conclusion: Social media engagement and fear of missing out significantly predicted poor sleep quality, with FoMO showing a stronger influence among young Armenian adults. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing digital media behaviors and psychological anxieties in interventions aimed at improving sleep outcomes.