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Behavioral Sciences
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11 December 2025

Hooked and Distracted? A Network Analysis on the Interplay of Social Media Addiction, Fear of Missing Out, Cyberloafing, Work Engagement and Organizational Commitment

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1
Department of Humanities, Vinzenz Pallotti University, 56179 Vallendar, Germany
2
Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
3
Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
This article belongs to the Section Social Psychology

Abstract

This study investigates interrelations among social media addiction (SMA), Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), cyberloafing (CL), work engagement (WE), and organizational commitment (OC) using network analysis. An online survey in Germany/Switzerland (n = 452; OC assessed in the employed subsample, n = 173) measured the five constructs. Unregularized and EBICglasso partial-correlation networks were estimated, and centrality and bridge indices were computed. Two robust edges emerged: a strong SMA–FoMO association and a strong positive WE–OC link; the regularized network additionally indicated a triangular SMA–FoMO–CL pattern. FoMO and OC acted as bridge nodes between problematic social media behaviors and work attitudes, whereas direct SMA links to WE/OC were weak or absent. Findings position FoMO as a pivotal mechanism connecting social media use to organizational attitudes and support, distinguishing functional micro-breaks from disruptive CL. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, student-skewed sample, self-report measures, smaller OC subsample, and a German/Swiss context.

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