Fear of missing out
[2] FOMO is also associated with a fear of regret,[3] which may lead to concerns that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, a memorable event, profitable investment, or the comfort of loved ones.
[3][5] FOMO could result from not knowing about a conversation,[6] missing a TV show, not attending a wedding or party,[7] or hearing that others have discovered a new restaurant.
[20] The phenomenon was first identified in 1996 by marketing strategist Dr. Dan Herman, who conducted research and published the first academic paper on the topic in 2000 in The Journal of Brand Management.
[2][23] Author Patrick J. McGinnis coined the term FOMO[24] and popularized it in a 2004 op-ed in The Harbus, the magazine of Harvard Business School.
[26] Currently the term has been used as a hashtag on social media and has been mentioned in hundreds of news articles, from online sources like Salon.com to print papers like The New York Times.
[28] In this study, around half of the respondents stated that they are overwhelmed by the amount of information needed to stay up-to-date, and that it is impossible to not miss out on something.
[2] People who experience higher levels of FOMO tend to have a stronger desire for high social status, are more competitive with others of the same gender, and are more interested in short-term relationships.
[35][2] Social media use in the presence of others can be referred to as phubbing, the habit of snubbing a physically present person in favour of a mobile phone.
[10][23] A lack of sleep in college students experiencing FOMO can be attributed to the number of social interactions that occur late at night on campuses.
[2] This gives people the fear of missing out when they feel like others on social media are taking part in positive life experiences that they personally are not also experiencing.
[36] Self-esteem plays a key role in the levels a person feels when experiencing the fear of missing out, as their self worth is influenced by people they observe on social media.
[citation needed] The temporary state of anxiety is the one that is more relevant to the fear of missing out,[37] and is directly related to the individual looking at social media sites for a short period of time.
[citation needed] Another survey indicates that almost 40% of people from ages 12 through 67 indicate that social media has led to a higher feeling of the fear of missing out.
[14] Within video games, FOMO is also used to describe the similar anxiety around missing the ability to obtain in-game items or complete activities that are only available for a limited time, such as those in battle passes.
[15] With the prominence of investors making large sums of money through cryptocurrencies, people may develop FOMO in anticipation of the next perceived get-rich-quick currency.
Real-time updates about status and major social events allow for a more engaging media consumption experience and faster dissemination of information.
[48] Real-time tweets about the Super Bowl are considered to be correlated with higher TV ratings due to their appeal to FOMO and the prevalence of social media usage.
[50] Taken from the Chinese dialect Hokkien, kiasu translates to a fear of losing out but also encompasses any sort of competitive, stingy or selfish behavior.
[50] The term FOMO has also inspired offshoots such as FOBO, FOMOMO, MOMO, FOJI, BROMO, NEMO, SLOMO and JOMO.
