2.4. The present research
Based on the SDT and on the assumption that low levels of basic
need satisfaction may relate to FoMO and social media engagement,
the aim of the present research was to examine for the first
time possible links between these constructs in the academic arena.
In order to properly assess these connections, a new scale was
constructed and validated to map and measure social media activities
students engaged in during classes.
The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:
H1. Students, who are high in basic need satisfaction, in terms of
being intrinsically motivated for learning, would be less inclined
toward social media use in the classroom. Whereas amotivated or
extrinsically motivated students would tend toward using social
media tools available.
H2. Based on the assumption that psychological need deficits can
lead some toward a general sensitivity to FoMO, it is hypothesized
that FoMO would serve as a mediator linking motivational deficits
to social media engagement. Furthermore, background variables,
such as gender, age, and socio-economic status, will also be
addressed in this research in order to assess how these variables
intersect and may contribute to the measured variables. Fig. 1
demonstrates the theoretical structure of the proposed framework.