Exploring How Far Fear of Missing Out and Self-Control Contribute to Social Media Addiction among TVET Students.

Efforts are ongoing to ascertain the incidence of social media addiction among students in higher education. Social media plays a pivotal role in daily life as it permits users to communicate with each other in various ways. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of social media addiction among Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students. The study was conducted at a TVET college in the Gauteng province of South Africa using a quantitative research approach. Using convenience sampling, 279 respondents were selected for analysis. According to the results of hypothesis testing, fear of missing out (FoMO) was associated with social media addiction, as was a lack of self-control. The mediation analysis and the fear of missing out partially mediated the relationship between social media addiction and a lack of self-control. A better understanding of the factors contributing to social media addiction among students is necessary if society, and higher education institutions in particular, are to prevent the mental health problems associated with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]