THE FEAR OF MISSING OUT: CONSEQUENCES AND PATHWAYS IN WHICH THEY OCCUR

Abstract

The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a phenomenon that most people are all too familiar with, especially online. Despite its online popularity, however, the construct of FOMO is still relatively new to the psychological literature, and the limited literature that exists naturally revolves around FOMO’s relationship with social media and technology. Thus, the present study aimed to extend the literature on FOMO, not just by exploring its relationships with outcomes outside the context of social media, but also by identifying mediators of those relationships. Two hundred and thirty participants responded to a series of questionnaires, and the data was analysed via path and mediation analyses. All hypotheses were largely supported: Rumination, insecure striving and mindfulness were found to mediate FOMO’s relationship with depressive and social anxiety symptoms, while mindfulness mediated FOMO’s relationship with productivity (in terms of the amount of work completed). These findings highlight the negative impact FOMO can have on mental health and productivity, and shed light on the mechanisms underlying these pathways, thus underscoring the importance of conducting research on FOMO.