Social Media Engagement: A Cause for Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)?

Ugyal Tshering Lama Yolmo¹, & Alisha Chettri²

Yolmo, U.T.L., & Chettri, A. (2023). Social Media Engagement: A Cause for Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)?. InterViews: An Interdisciplinary Journal in Social Sciences, 10(1), pp. 64-76. https://doi.org/10.36061/IV.10.1.23.64.76

Abstract

Social media, a relatively recent phenomenon, fosters active participation and diverse opinions among users, facilitating increased connection and engagement within the online community. Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is characterized by an intense desire to stay continuously informed about others’ activities, coupled with an uneasy sense of potentially missing out on experiences. Studies indicate that FoMO significantly predicts adverse outcomes from excessive social media use. Thus, the present research aimed to i) explore the influence of social media usage on Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) among college students and ii) examine gender differences in FoMO and social media utilization. The findings revealed a robust correlation between FoMO and social media activity, with the latter emerging as a significant predictor of the former. Furthermore, noteworthy gender differences were observed in both FoMO and social media engagement.

Keywords: Social media, FoMO, social media engagement, gender difference

¹Ugyal Tshering Lama Yolmo is a PhD Scholar at the Department of Mass Communication, Sikkim University, India. Correspondence regarding this article must be directed to: ugyal.lama@gmail.com

²Alisha Chettri is a PhD Scholar at the Department of Psychology, Tripura University, India.