Authors : Jisna M, Sarath P, Sunitha Grandhee
DOI : 10.18231/j.jchm.16811.1780637174
Volume : 13
Issue : 2
Year : 2026
Page No : 63-68
Background: The rapid expansion of social media has transformed the psychological experiences of youth, particularly in socio-culturally dynamic contexts such as Kerala. Despite growing research on social media and mental health, the mechanisms through which digital engagement produces deeper cognitive and moral outcomes remain underexplored. Aim: This study investigated the mediating role of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) in the relationship between social media addiction and scrupulosity among college-going youth (N = 428; Mean age = 21.4, SD = 2.1) in Kerala. Methodology: A cross-sectional design was employed using standardized, culturally adapted self-report measures. Bootstrapped mediation analysis (5,000 resamples) indicated that FoMO significantly partially mediated the social media addiction–scrupulosity relationship (indirect β = .26, 95% CI [.18, .34]). Results: Females reported significantly higher FoMO and scrupulosity than males. Conclusion: The findings support a behavioral–emotional–moral pathway model of digital distress and highlight the need for interventions targeting comparison-based cognition and moral self-evaluation, not only screen-time reduction. Limitations and directions for future research are discuss