Foo, Chun Ying Averly, and Chew, Peter K.H. (2025) Effects of death anxiety on social media addiction and internet gaming disorder: Roles of fear of missing out and self-esteem. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. (In Press)

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Abstract

Despite the extensive literature on risk factors for digital addictions, it is surprising that death anxiety (DA) has not been examined as a potential risk factor, given its transdiagnostic nature for various psychological disorders. This study investigated the effect of DA on social media addiction (SMA) and internet gaming disorder (IGD) and examined whether these relationships were mediated by fear of missing out (FOMO) and moderated by self-esteem. Participants were 178 (53.93% females) social media and gaming users, aged between 18 and 84 years. They completed instruments assessing DA, FOMO, self-esteem, SMA, and IGD. Results revealed that the relationship between DA and SMA was partially mediated by FOMO but not moderated by self-esteem. In addition, the relationship between DA and IGD was not mediated by FOMO but was moderated by self-esteem. Specifically, DA predicted higher levels of IGD when self-esteem levels were low and average, but not at high levels of self-esteem. These findings broaden current understanding of digital addictions by accounting for the role of death-related fears and mechanisms that may contribute to the development and maintenance of SMA and IGD.

Item ID:	86381
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1552-650X
Keywords:	death anxiety, social media addiction, internet gaming disorder, fear of missing out, self-esteem
Copyright Information:	Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International CC BY-NC
Date Deposited:	29 Jul 2025 01:37
FoR Codes:	52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5203 Clinical and health psychology > 520302 Clinical psychology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology @ 100%
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