Understanding user’s continuance intention of mobile social media apps: fear of missing out (FoMO) and users’ desired value

Given the widespread use of social media apps, it is important to study their effects on people’s psychology and behavior. Past research suggests that perceived value impacts an individual’s continuance intention to use social media apps. However, it remains unexplored whether people’s desired value triggers “Fear of Missing Out” (FoMO) and further drives people’s continued intention to use social media apps. This study, based on Self-Determination Theory, proposes a research model to explain how an individual’s desired value (i.e., desired utilitarian, hedonic and social value) influences their intention to continue using social media apps through the mediating effect of FoMO. With a sample of 243 users of social mobile media apps from China, empirical findings demonstrated that the desired social value has a significant and positively direct effect on users’ continuance intention. Furthermore, FoMO plays a significant mediating role in shaping the relationship between the desired value and users’ intention to continue using social media apps. Results also indicated that gender moderated the association among desired values (i.e., utilitarian, and social), FoMO, and the user’s continuance intention. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.