The Effect Of Active Solitude On Social Media Fear Of Missing Out In College Students

The university period is a critical period for individuals to enter society,move towards independence,grow up and become successful,etc.Low levels of social media anxiety can lead to better interpersonal communication and academic achievement among college students,as well as influence their future career choice and life philosophy.Personality traits are important influencing factors in the development of social media loss anxiety,and positive solitude as a personality trait will make them reduce anxiety and experience more relaxation and comfort.Emotion regulation self-efficacy can serve as a protective factor for external behavioral problems and can effectively reduce social media loss anxiety.It is important to explore the relationship between positive solitude,emotion regulation self-efficacy,and social media loss anxiety,and to conduct targeted intervention studies based on them.To this end,a total of two studies were designed to address this issue in this study.Study 1: A questionnaire survey was used to explore the effect of active solitude on social media error anxiety among college students and to further construct a model of the effect of emotion regulation self-efficacy on the relationship between active solitude and social media error anxiety.Using a convenience sampling method,793 college students from two universities in X and G provinces were measured using the Positive Solitude Scale,the Social Media Mistake Anxiety Scale,and the Emotion Regulation Self-Efficacy Scale.Common method bias test,descriptive analysis,correlation analysis and difference test were conducted by SPSS 26.0,and mediation model test was conducted by PROCESS plug-in.The results found that college students’ positive solitude positively predicted emotion regulation self-efficacy and negatively predicted social media misconduct anxiety,and emotion regulation self-efficacy negatively predicted college students’ social media misconduct anxiety;emotion regulation self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between positive solitude and social media misconduct anxiety.Study 2: Based on Study 1,we aimed to examine whether the emotion regulation self-efficacy group counseling intervention was effective in reducing social media loss anxiety among college students.After interviewing and communicating the intention to join the group,some unsuitable students were excluded,and 30 students were finally identified to participate in the experiment.The study used a mixed experimental design of 3(pre-test,post-test,follow-up test)× 3(experimental group,course group,and control group),with a 2-month group counseling on emotion regulation self-efficacy(8 sessions in total)for the experimental group,8 sessions of the Chinese University MOOC "Mental Health Education for College Students" course for the course group,and the control group occurring under natural conditions.The results found that emotion regulation self-efficacy group counseling was effective and feasible in improving college students’ levels of emotion regulation self-efficacy and thus social media misconduct anxiety,and that the counseling effects were consistently stable.In conclusion,positive solitude directly influenced social media loss anxiety,and emotion regulation self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between positive solitude and social media loss anxiety among college students.The implementation of the emotion regulation self-efficacy group counseling intervention program can improve college students’ emotion regulation self-efficacy and further reduce social media error anxiety,which has positive implications for the improvement of college students’ emotion regulation self-efficacy and the reduction of social media error anxiety,and also provides an effective reference for the emotion regulation self-efficacy group counseling program.