Negative Emotional States as Predictors for FoMO

Abstract

Fear of missing out (FoMO) is the feeling of being anxious, depressed, and/or angry when an event may be currently happening elsewhere. FoMO can also be defined as the fear that others may be having more rewarding experiences than you. The current study examines whether personality type or negative emotional states, like depression, anxiety, and/or stress, are greater contributors to fear of missing out in college students. One hundred eighty-one undergraduate students currently enrolled at Carroll College in Helena, Montana participated in a campus wide survey. Participants took three different questionnaires, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), The Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI) and The Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) Scale. Using a regression to predict FoMO, stress was the only significant predictor. With students currently being in school, there is a chance that they are experiencing more stress than normal, specifically academic stress. Other research has found FoMO to be a predictor of stress and other negative psychological states. The current study did not take into consideration the time of day or day of the week the survey was taken, other research has shown that fear of missing out scores are impacted by the time of day and day of the week the survey was taken on.