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Fear of missing out

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Mobile phones now enable people to remain in contact with their social and professional network continuously. This may result in compulsive checking for status updates and messages, for fear of missing an opportunity.[1]

Fear of missing out or FOMO is a form of social anxiety, whereby one is compulsively concerned that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, profitable investment or other satisfying event.[2] The fear is especially associated with modern technologies such as mobile phones and social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter, which provide constant opportunity for comparison of one's status.[3] Through an increased reliance on the Internet, a psychological dependence to being online has developed and results in anxiety when one feels disconnected, thereby leading to a fear of missing out.[4]

Origins

In August 2014, Boston Magazine published an article on the origins of FOMO at Harvard based on McGinnis' article.[5]

Research

A study by Andrew Przybylski found that the FOMO condition was most common in those who had unsatisfied psychological needs such as wanting to be loved and respected.[6] His study was based upon a questionnaire with 10 questions such as "I fear others have more rewarding experiences than me." Participants rated each of these on a 5 point scale from "not at all true of me" to "extremely true of me". The overall "FoMOs" score was computed as the average of the ten answers.[2]

Professor of psychology, Dan Ariely, claims that FOMO is fear of regret that we have made the wrong decision on how to spend our time as, "you can imagine how things could be different".[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hephzibah Anderson (17 April 2011), "Never heard of Fomo? You're so missing out", The Observer
  2. ^ a b Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan, Gladwell (2013), "Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out", Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 29 (4): 1814–1848 {{citation}}: |volume= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Simon Kellner (13 January 2013), "Is FOMO depriving us of our ability to exist in the present and take pleasure in the here and now?", The Independent
  4. ^ Jonathan J. Kandell (29 January 2009), Internet Addiction on Campus: The Vulnerability of College Students
  5. ^ http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/07/29/fomo-history/
  6. ^ Claire Cohen (16 May 2013), "FoMo: Do you have a Fear of Missing Out?", The Daily Telegraph
  7. ^ Jenna Wortham (April 9, 2011), "Feel Like a Wallflower? Maybe It's Your Facebook Wall", New York Times


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