Social Media Anxiety Scale

The Social Media Anxiety Scale measures the extent to which individuals experience anxiety, apprehension, and psychological distress related to social media use. Developed by Przybylski and colleagues (2013) and expanded by Elhai and colleagues, the scale captures the 'Fear of Missing Out' (FOMO) construct—anxiety about missing important social events or information if not actively monitoring social media—alongside broader concerns about social comparison, peer judgment, and online relationships.