Problematic social media use (PSMU) is increasingly conceptualized as a behavioral addiction involving attentional bias toward social media icons. Although fear of missing out (FoMO) contributes to PSMU maintenance, its dynamic interactive role in attentional bias dynamics remains unclear. Guided by the I-PACE model and attentional bias theory, this study examined whether and when FoMO modulates gaze-based attentional bias toward social media icons in PSMU. 912 university students completed online screening for PSMU and FoMO; 55 meeting PSMU criteria (Mage = 19.60) were categorized into high- or low-FoMO groups. Participants performed a visual dot-probe task with social/non-social app icons while eye-tracking recorded gaze behavior across four 500 ms time windows. Results revealed FoMO significantly interacted with attentional bias in two critical phases: During early processing (0–500 ms), the PSMU/high-FoMO group exhibited attentional orienting deceleration to social media icons, whereas PSMU/low-FoMO showed attentional maintenance. In later processing (1000–1500 ms), PSMU/high-FoMO demonstrated attentional vigilance-maintenance, while PSMU/low-FoMO displayed avoidance. These findings indicate FoMO exerts a temporally dynamic interaction effect on attentional bias in PSMU—characterized by initial orienting delays followed by sustained attentional engagement with social media icons. This supports reconceptualizing FoMO as a core psychological mechanism that reinforces PSMU through biased attentional dynamics, advancing theoretical alignment with the I-PACE framework.
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