Fear of Missing Out

Abstract

This entry defines fear of missing out (FOMO) as a construct based on negative affect, social comparison, and counterfactual thinking. Prior theoretical foundations of FOMO and the nature of the experience based on prior research findings are briefly summarized. Its relevance to social media and media in general is discussed with an overview of previous research in regard to problematic and compulsive social media and smartphone use, mental health and well‐being, and advertising and marketing. Last, FOMO over the average human life span is discussed, that is, commonalities and differences of the FOMO experience depending on peoples' age. This entry aims to provide a detailed overview of current research in FOMO and to explicate the construct in a detailed fashion. Further, its relevance to today's media environment, specifically social media, is discussed.

Fear of missing out and binge‐drinking among adolescents

“…Because adolescents with high FOMO tend to spend more time on social media, they may find more opportunities to drink alcohol, and they may be more exposed to alcohol‐advertising and alcohol‐influencers, especially in countries like Norway where regular alcohol advertising is banned [14,15]. With knowledge that others are present at social events where alcohol is consumed, adolescents with high FOMO may more readily attend to and compare their own experiences to those of others and combine this with emotions such as apprehension and uneasiness [7]. Adolescents with lower FOMO, on the other hand, may be more oblivious as to whether others are having more rewarding experiences than themselves, or simply not be concerned that they are.…”

“…Fear of missing out (FOMO), defined as ‘…a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent’ [6] could be one such risk factor. FOMO as a phenomenon has gained increased research interest in the last decade, especially due to its close association with social media use [7]. However, research concerning the potential relationship between FOMO and binge‐drinking among adolescents is sparse.…”

“…FOMO includes both an affective component (fear, anxiety, apprehension, uneasiness) and a cognitive component that involves comparing one's own experiences to those of others, and to experiences one could have had [7]. FOMO can be thought of as a state or a trait.…”

“…Second, those high in FOMO tend to spend more time on social media where they can be exposed to more events involving alcohol, and to alcohol‐related commercials and alcohol‐influencers [6,12–15]. Third, individuals high in trait FOMO may simply more readily take part in drinking events because they have greater fear of missing out on the fun and excitement experienced by peers who drink compared to adolescents with lower FOMO [7,16].…”

“…Other factors can explain why an association between FOMO and drinking is observed, rendering the association spurious. For instance, high FOMO appears to be related to low general mood, less life satisfaction, more negative affect, insomnia and poor mental health [6,7,20,21]. Such poor mental health and well‐being is in turn related to adolescent drinking [13,22,23].…”