Did you ever feel anxiety after watching a product that your friend has purchased that you did not have? Have you made a purchase by being influenced by the purchasing decisions of others? Then, you are probably experiencing Fear Of Missing Out. The “Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)” refers to a psychological phenomenon which has become more prevalent in the modern digital era.
Understanding Fear Of Missing Out
In the modern digital age, social media plays a significant role in transforming the way people communicate and interact with each other and perceive the world. The emergence of modern technologies and various digital platforms has raised certain psychological phenomena, among which the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is an emerging phenomenon. FOMO refers to an individual’s anxiety, which appears from their feelings of missing out on certain exciting and rewarding experiences that other people surrounding their environment may have been enjoying.
Dan Herman introduced the term“Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)” in 1996 for the first time, while the term became popular with Patrick J. McGinnis in 2004. This psychological phenomenon reflects the desires of individuals to remain updated and aware constantly of the activities, and movements which have been done by others.
Relationship between FOMO and social media usage
Around 56 per cent of social media users are found to be experiencing FOMO, while 48 per cent of them said in a survey that social media triggers feelings like something or an enjoyable experience is missing. In recent years, the usage of various social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram has increased significantly. As of 2024, more than five billion people use social media platforms worldwide. Apart from reshaping the interaction of human beings, social media has become a new way for the development of relationships and helps to remain socially connected.
On the other hand, the increasing usage of social media has resulted in the development of certain negative experiences, which are termed FOMO.Social media platforms are found to be amplifying the fear of missing out among users. Young adults, especially those belonging to the age group of 18 to 25, who remain active on social media platforms most of the time, are most likely to experience fear of missing out anxiety. It has become a trend among people to share their personal information and activities starting from their family outings to adventures, party invitations, new job opportunities and many others on their social media profiles.
This enables the individual to be involved in social media scrolling more frequently to remain informed about the activities and experiences of their peers and relatives which leads to the development of FOMO in terms of triggering anxiety or jealousy towards the achievement of their known ones. It has also been observed that 45 per cent of people experiencing FOMO struggle to avoid spending more than 12 hours without scrolling social media.
Impact of FOMO
Mental health impact
FOMO can lead to various mental health problems and negative psychological outcomes such as anxiety, depression, jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. Additionally, life satisfaction, mood status, competence, and autonomy among individuals, especially teenagers, can also be negatively impacted due to FOMO. Self-efficacy may also be reduced among individuals because of the pressure of showing achievements and a perfect life online driven by FOMO.
Behavioural change
FOMO also has the high potential to trigger behavioural change among people in terms of influencing them to continuously scroll their social media feeds and stay updated on what is happening in their society. Therefore, as a result of FOMO, individuals can suffer from excessive screen time and social media addiction.
Effective ways to deal with FOMO
It needs to be kept in mind that the activities or phenomena which come in the social media feed do not always represent the exact reality of the incident. People often post images, videos, or other information by manipulating the exact reality to show others that they are enjoying their lives. Individuals who will be able to realise this quickly, can live their life in healthy ways and experience less fear of missing out.
Digital detox is another effective way to overcome FOMO. Digital detox refers to the practices in which individuals decide to take a break from digital platforms or social media for a certain period of time. Therefore, by practising digital detox, one can focus more on their offline activities and can improve their mental well-being. Individuals who often experience FOMO can also decide to take mindful training for the navigation of FOMO in an effective way.
FOMO in marketing
In the fast-paced, competitive business world, FOMO has become an effective tool of marketing for brands. By leveraging the “fear of missing out” of consumers, several organisations aim to boost customer engagement and increase sales. According to a survey, it has been found that 60 per cent of shoppers make buying decisions because of fear of missing out,which demonstrates the effectiveness of FOMO marketing approaches in the enhancement of consumer engagement and driving sales. Marketers often have been seen to leverage the power of social media or other digital platforms to create fear of missing out among potential customers and positively influence them to make a purchasing decision towards their products.
Case study of Amazon and Flipkart
As the prominent examples of companies which successfully use FOMO as a tool in their marketing concept, the names of Amazon and Flipkart can be highlighted. These are the two leading e-commerce companies. Flipkart and Amazon often update customers about their flash sales in their social media and mobile applications to enable the customers to know about the limited deal offers and products.
This creates a sense of urgency among the customers to grab the deal offers before other people grab it. Exclusive deals, offers, and sales are also offered by Flipkart and Amazon one day in advance of the sale to its plus and premium customers, respectively, to create fear of missing out on their exciting offers only for a few customers.
Case study of Booking.com
Booking.com has recognised that travellers have FOMO on great hotel deals. This anxiety of customers has been leveraged by Booking.com in terms of providing alerts on last-room availability. For example, when users search for accommodations, messages like “only one room left” have been observed by them. This enables the users to immediately book accommodations even if they have no planning earlier.
FAQ
1. What is FOMO?
FOMO, which is the acronym for “fear of missing out”, refers to an individual’s anxiety, which appears from their feelings of missing out on certain exciting and rewarding experiences that other people surrounding their environment may have been enjoying.
2. How did the term FOMO come about?
Dan Herman introduced the term FOMO in 1996 for the first time while the term became popular by Patrick J. McGinnis in 2004.
3. How does social media contribute to FOMO?
It has become a trend among people to share their personal information and activities starting from their family outings to adventures, party invitations, new job opportunities and many others on their social media profiles. This enables the individual to be involved in social media scrolling more frequently to remain informed about the activities and experiences of their peers and relatives, which leads to the development of FOMO in terms of triggering anxiety or jealousy towards the achievement of their known ones.
4. Who is most likely to experience FOMO?
Young adults, especially those belonging to the age group of 18 to 25, who remain active on social media platforms most of the time, are most likely to experience FOMO.
5. What mental health issues can FOMO cause?
FOMO can lead to various mental health problems and negative psychological outcomes such as anxiety, depression, jealousy and feelings of inadequacy.
