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Behavioral Sciences
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Digital Behavior and Psychological Processes in Social Media and Smartphone...
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Digital Behavior and Psychological Processes in Social Media and Smartphone Use

A Special Issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X) belonging to the section "Social Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 5103

Editor

Dr. Alex J. Holte

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA
Interests: social psychology; fear of missing out; problematic social media use; problematic smartphone use

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to publish research on digital behavior and the psychological processes that explain social media and smartphone use. Submitted papers should add to the empirical literature an understanding of the individual differences and/or theoretical applications of psychological theory to describe any of these constructs. In addition to papers about social media or smartphone use, broadly speaking, an awareness of related concepts known to influence these variables, such as fear of missing out (FoMO) would be welcomed. As we know, social media and smartphone use are behaviors that are common and widely exhibited in society, and understanding these behaviors and the psychological processes that drive them is important since the growth in technology use should be proceeded by a rise in understanding of such behaviors. This Special Issue will advance our understanding of Cyberpsychology by identifying individual differences that explain digital behaviors and the psychological processes of social media and smartphone use. By utilizing established psychological theories to arrive at empirical conclusions pertinent to the topics outlined above, this Special Issue will be a collection of works which further advances the field of Cyberpsychology.

If you would like to inquire about the suitability of your paper for this special collection, feel free to contact me, and I look forward to reading your submission and seeing how the field of Cyberpsychology addresses the empirical questions about the digital age.

Dr. Alex J. Holte
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smartphone use
  • social media use
  • fear of missing out
  • cyberpsychology
  • online behavior
  • human–computer interaction
  • digital communication

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1070 KB  
Article
When Social Skills Backfire: Social Media Overuse as a Pathway Linking Social Competence and Health Across Cultures
by Shaoyu Ye and Kevin K. W. Ho
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(6), 933; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16060933 - 5 Jun 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 581
Abstract
This study investigates how self-presentation and social skills relate to physical health among university students in Japan and Hong Kong, with particular attention to the mediating roles of social media use and social support. We conducted two online surveys; as a result, 452 [...] Read more.
This study investigates how self-presentation and social skills relate to physical health among university students in Japan and Hong Kong, with particular attention to the mediating roles of social media use and social support. We conducted two online surveys; as a result, 452 participants in Japan and 289 participants in Hong Kong were analyzed using multi-group structural equation modeling. Across both samples, social skills were directly associated with increased physical symptoms, and this direct association was substantially stronger than the indirect association through social support, which was linked to fewer physical symptoms. Notable cross-cultural differences also emerged. In Japan, self-presentation was directly associated with increased respiratory–sleep symptoms (R-SSs), and this direct association was stronger than the indirect pathway through posting frequency and time spent on social media. In contrast, in Hong Kong, no direct association between self-presentation and physical symptoms was detected, although an indirect association through social media usage time—leading to increased R-SS—emerged at a marginally significant level. These findings highlight the dual and context-dependent effects of personal attributes in digital environments, demonstrating that characteristics typically associated with positive social functioning may produce unintended health consequences online. By integrating personal factors, social media behaviors, and cultural context, this study advances understanding of digital well-being and physical health in contemporary societies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Behavior and Psychological Processes in Social Media and Smartphone Use)
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24 pages, 660 KB  
Article
Perceived Time Spent on TikTok, Overall User Satisfaction, and Parallel Psychological Costs
by Qian Zhang, Jingjing Yang and Dongyoup Kim
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 816; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16050816 - 19 May 2026
Viewed by 927
Abstract
With the rapid growth of short-video platforms, it has become increasingly important to understand the psychological processes that sustain prolonged engagement and contribute to individual evaluative responses. This study examines the dual pattern of associations involving perceived time spent on TikTok by investigating [...] Read more.
With the rapid growth of short-video platforms, it has become increasingly important to understand the psychological processes that sustain prolonged engagement and contribute to individual evaluative responses. This study examines the dual pattern of associations involving perceived time spent on TikTok by investigating whether it is positively associated with overall user satisfaction while also being linked to psychological cost-related responses, including privacy concerns, health consciousness, social interaction anxiety, and social media fatigue. Data were collected through an online survey administered via Prolific and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The findings show that perceived time spent on TikTok is significantly associated with health consciousness and social interaction anxiety. Perceived time spent on TikTok is also directly and positively associated with overall user satisfaction. Moreover, privacy concerns and social media fatigue are negatively associated with overall user satisfaction. The fsQCA results further reveal six configurations associated with high user satisfaction. These configurations illustrate the principle of equifinality and indicate that no single condition reached the conventional threshold for necessity. Overall, the findings suggest that high user satisfaction can coexist with different combinations of psychological cost-related responses, thereby offering a more nuanced account of how users experience short-video platforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Behavior and Psychological Processes in Social Media and Smartphone Use)
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22 pages, 873 KB  
Article
From Binge Scrolling to Problematic Technology Use: Fear of Missing Out as a Self-Regulatory Mediator
by Alex James Holte, Ava B. Wise and Andrew J. Nixon II
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 802; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16050802 - 18 May 2026
Viewed by 928
Abstract
Binge-scrolling, the consecutive viewing of digital content, may contribute to maladaptive technology use behaviors such as Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) and Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU). Grounded in Compensatory-Internet Use Theory (CUIT), the present study examined whether Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) mediated [...] Read more.
Binge-scrolling, the consecutive viewing of digital content, may contribute to maladaptive technology use behaviors such as Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) and Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU). Grounded in Compensatory-Internet Use Theory (CUIT), the present study examined whether Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) mediated the relationships between binge-scrolling, PSU, and PSMU. A total of 428 adults (Mage = 40.82, SD = 12.54, range = 18 to 80) who were nearly equally represented in terms of sex (Male = 213, Female = 214, Prefer not to say = 1) from the United States were recruited to participate in the research by completing validated self-report measures. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test two hypothesized models. Results indicated that binge-scrolling was positively associated with FoMO, PSU and PSMU and that the pathway between binge-scrolling and PSU/PSMU was mediated by FoMO. FoMO may amplify monitoring-related engagement, linking binge-scrolling to PSU and PSMU. Collectively, this research suggests that FoMO may function as a potential self-regulatory monitoring mechanism within compensatory technology use. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Behavior and Psychological Processes in Social Media and Smartphone Use)
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17 pages, 620 KB  
Article
A Cross-Lagged Study of Helicopter Parenting, Parent–Child Conflict, and Adolescents’ Short Video Addiction: The Moderating Role of Trait Autonomy
by Hengzhe Wang, Xingchao Wang, Fanwei Meng and Haiying Wang
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 729; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16050729 - 9 May 2026
Viewed by 607
Abstract
Short video addiction has become an increasingly important problem among adolescents, yet its family antecedents remain understudied. The present study used a cross-lagged design to examine relations among adolescent-reported helicopter parenting, parent–child conflict, and short video addiction, as well as the moderating role [...] Read more.
Short video addiction has become an increasingly important problem among adolescents, yet its family antecedents remain understudied. The present study used a cross-lagged design to examine relations among adolescent-reported helicopter parenting, parent–child conflict, and short video addiction, as well as the moderating role of trait autonomy. Cross-lagged data were collected from Chinese adolescents (N = 1051; mean age at baseline = 16.42 years; standard deviation = 0.83). Results showed that helicopter parenting at Time 1 (T1) did not predict short video addiction at Time 2 (T2), whereas short video addiction at T1 positively predicted helicopter parenting at T2. Bidirectional associations were found between helicopter parenting and parent–child conflict, and between parent–child conflict and short video addiction. In addition, a small indirect association from T1 helicopter parenting to T2 short video addiction through parent–child conflict was observed. Compared with adolescents with high trait autonomy, helicopter parenting, parent–child conflict, and short video addiction showed greater stability from T1 to T2 among adolescents with low trait autonomy. These findings underscore the importance of considering both family relationship processes and adolescents’ self-regulatory characteristics in interventions for short video addiction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Behavior and Psychological Processes in Social Media and Smartphone Use)
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17 pages, 1547 KB  
Article
Fear of Missing Out and Problematic Social Media Use Among Chinese University Students: Latent Profiles and Two-Wave Network Comparisons
by Yang Wang, Lei Zhang, Jon D. Elhai, Christian Montag and Haibo Yang
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16050678 - 29 Apr 2026
Viewed by 810
Abstract
Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a cognitive-affective factor that has been consistently linked to problematic social media use (PSMU), but less is known about whether this association differs across severity-based subgroups or changes over time at the node level. This study examined [...] Read more.
Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a cognitive-affective factor that has been consistently linked to problematic social media use (PSMU), but less is known about whether this association differs across severity-based subgroups or changes over time at the node level. This study examined the cross-sectional and two-wave associations between FoMO and PSMU in Chinese university students. Two-wave data were collected one year apart from 853 participants at Time 1 and 817 participants at Time 2. Partial correlation and regression analyses showed that FoMO was positively associated with PSMU. Latent profile analysis identified broad higher- and lower-level subgroups for both FoMO and PSMU. Node-level network analyses further indicated that FoMO and PSMU nodes were positively interconnected. Most subgroup and two-wave network comparisons suggested that overall network structure was relatively stable. The clearest temporal difference emerged in the global strength of the PSMU network. When differences were observed, they were more evident in the relative prominence of specific nodes, including several bridging nodes, than in broader network organization. Overall, the findings suggest that the FoMO-PSMU association is robust, whereas subgroup- and time-related variation appears limited and is better understood as node-level variation within a broader pattern of structural stability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Behavior and Psychological Processes in Social Media and Smartphone Use)
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