December 9, 2024 at 19:42 IST
The study says that FOMO is driven by anxious thoughts about how our absence might affect relationships and social situations.
FOMO (fear of missing out) has turned out to be one of the words we use the most. It refers to the fear of missing out on important and interesting things. However, a recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests that it’s not just a matter of losing what brings pleasure; its more than that. Read also | Selfies and FOMO: Why self-centered people love social media
Research shows that the fear of losing something is caused by losing the ability to connect with people we care about. This fear arises from the anxiety stemming from our innate need to be present in our relationships and social situations, and the anxiety about how our absence might affect them.
Research results:
The study was conducted on 5,441 participants from online platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk and Prolific. Participants had to experience different situations to understand the real factors and triggers of the fear of losing. The methods used in the experiment were hypothetical scenarios, real tasks of viewing social networks, and experimental manipulation of event characteristics. Read also | How FOMO Can Be Behind Teens’ Social Media Anxiety
The study found that participants felt the most FOMO when missing out on events that consisted of their close friends and loved ones. Their FOMO increased when events involved social connections. Read also | Does social media make you anxious? How Smarter Use Can Improve Your Mental Health
What causes FOMO?
This further proves that FOMO is caused not only by the fear of missing out, but also by the perception of creating connections and shared history.
The author of the study, Jacqueline R. Rifkin, an assistant professor of marketing at Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business, told PsyPost, “I’ve been surprised to see that people feel a good deal of FOMO for missing events that aren’t fun, like a funeral, comforting a sad friend, or a hectic initiation ceremony. It really convinced me that FOMO isn’t the fun we’re missing out on, it’s the intangible connections people make when they spend time together, which includes bonding over something sad or emotional.” Read also | The Dark Side Effects of the Digital Workplace: How Information Overload and FOMO Cause Stress and Burnout
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor for any health concerns.
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