FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and Social Interaction Anxiety among Young Adults

Abstract

In the growing field of psychology, Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) has become a universal concept in recent years where individuals are influenced by social media which paves the way for the development of social anxiety and related disorders. FoMO refers to the feeling that other people are enjoying themselves more, having better lives, or having better experiences than one’s life. People are social beings that desire social interactions in groups, therefore feeling excluded can have negative psychological effects which results in the occurrence of FoMO. Social Interaction Anxiety (SIA) is the discomfort experienced when interacting with others, whether they are friends, strangers, or those of the opposing sex (Mattick & Clark, 1998). This research aimed to study the nature of relationship as well as gender differences between FOMO and SIA. This was conducted among a group of young adults, who were selected by convenience sampling method. Both male and female samples are included in the both samples. Data were collected through self report questionnaires: FoMOs – Fear of Missing Out Scale, developed by Przybylski, Murayama, DeHann, & Gladwell (2013) and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) – Developed by Mattick, R. P., & Clarke, J. C. (1998). The present study was analysed by t-test and correlation research method. It was revealed that there are no significant gender differences between male and female population in FOMO and SIA and that there exists a significant relationship between FOMO and SIA.