However, in the context of desires and cravings for possibly unwanted behaviors, desire thinking might be ascribed a more problematic role and function. In summary, desire thinking is not inherently dysfunctional since it resembles, according to respective theoretical considerations, a human ability to foresee and elaborate future events. More specifically, evidence accumulates that desire thinking might also be associated with problematic SNS use.
Desire thinking has been found to be more pronounced in individuals with addictive behaviors (e.g., ) and has more recently been theoretically embedded in an extended version of the I-PACE model for specific Internet-use disorders. Thus, desire thinking refers to an imaginal prefiguration and verbal preoccupation that is voluntary and effortful. The process that is responsible for the elaboration of an initial intrusion of an appetitive target is desire thinking, which is constituted by the human ability to process future-oriented thinking. In its basic assumptions, the EIT postulates an interplay of cue-elicited automatic associations and the effortful cognitive elaboration of those associations that have intruded into awareness. More recently, also gambling cravings have been explored through the eyes of the EIT, having led to the application of this theory also in the context of addictive behaviors.
A theory that shows transdiagnostic validity in the phenomenology of craving for a variety of appetitive substances such as alcohol, food, soft drinks, and tobacco, is the Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire (EIT ). All of them aim at explaining the same phenomenon: a strong and irresistible desire for an appetitive object, state, or activity (e.g., ). There is a broad variety of craving conceptualizations and theories, including conditioning models, psychobiological models, motivational models, and cognitive models (for review, see ). Addiction-specific mechanisms that have therefore come into focus of research on the use of SNS are cue-reactivity and craving (e.g., ). Main lines of reasoning that certain behaviors might be considered as addictive refer to (1) the scientific evidence for the clinical relevance of the behavior, (2) the theoretical embedding of phenomena, and (3) the similarity of underlying cognitive and affective mechanisms to those of substance use disorders. While there is a debate on whether we are over-pathologizing everyday behaviors, a line of research claims that if the use of SNS takes precedence over other life activities, becomes hard to control, and is continued despite the occurrence of negative consequences, it might resemble addictive behavior patterns. However, a vulnerable minority feels guilty about this wasted time, experiences a decrease in well-being, or reports that they lose control over their use. For some, this feels like time well-spent on helpful or enriching activities on SNS. The use of social networking sites (SNS) has become an integral part of our lives. Our results highlight that neither desire thinking nor FoMO are inherently dysfunctional but become problematic when they increase craving for potentially problematic SNS use. Ad hoc analyses revealed that the verbal subcomponent of desire thinking is more strongly associated with FoMO than imaginal prefiguration. We found that desire thinking predicted FoMO and both variables were only significant predictors of problematic SNS use when considered in interplay with craving.
AN INTENSE AND IRRESITABLE DESIRE FOR FREEDOM SERIAL
To test the interaction of these cognitions and their influence on problematic SNS use, we tested a serial mediation model on a sample of N = 193 individuals who use SNS (73% female, M age = 28.3, SD = 9.29). In the special case of problematic social networking sites (SNS) use, this experienced deficit could be constituted of an online-specific fear of missing out (FoMO). According to the Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire, desire thinking and an associated deficit are fundamental factors to the emergence of craving.
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