Keywords
Fear of missing out (FoMO)
Personal dimension of FoMO
Social dimension of FoMO
How to Cite
Abstract
This study expands the exploration of a consumer behavior concept that has received considerable attention recently: the fear of missing out (FoMO). Several variables were analyzed in terms of their potential influence on FoMO: social media usage, self-concept, social identity, smartphone usage, innovativeness, and gender. The study builds upon the premise that the construct has two distinct components: a personal dimension and a social dimension. The importance of these results is discussed in terms of advancing FoMO theory as well as assisting practitioners in directing their promotional efforts.
References
Abel, J. P., Buff, C. L., & Burr, S. A. (2016). Social media and the fear of missing out: Scale development and assessment. Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER), 14(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/ 10.19030/jber.v14i1.9554
Aljomaa, S. S., Al.Qudah, M. F., Albursan, I. S., Bakhiet, S. F., & Abduljabbar, A. S. (2016). Smartphone addiction among university students in the light of some variables. Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.041
Alt, D. (2015). College students’ academic motivation, media engagement and fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.057
Altheide, D. L. (2013). Media logic, social control, and fear: Media logic, social control, and fear. Communication Theory, 23(3), 223–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/comt.12017
Argan, M., & Tokay Argan, M. (2020). Share or worry! relationship among fomo, social visibility and conspicuous sharing. Journal of Internet Applications and Management, 11(2), 63–80.
Asif, S. (2020). Herd consumption behaviour of indian youth towards luxury fashion brands: The medi- ating role of fomo. Xi’an Dianzi Keji Daxue Xuebao/Journal of Xidian University, 14, 707–728. https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.10/075
Beyens, I., Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2016). “I don’t want to miss a thing”: Adolescents’ fear of missing out and its relationship to adolescents’ social needs, Facebook use, and Facebook related stress. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.083
Bruner, G. C. (2016). Marketing scales handbook. 8: Multi-item measures for consumer insight research /Gordon C. Bruner (2. edition). GCBII Productions.
Chao, C.-W., Reid, M., & Mavondo, F. T. (2012). Consumer innovativeness influence on really new product adoption. Australasian Marketing Journal, 20(3), 211–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj. 2012.02.001
Cheever, N. A., Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Chavez, A. (2014). Out of sight is not out of mind: The impact of restricting wireless mobile device use on anxiety levels among low, moderate and high users. Computers in Human Behavior, 37, 290–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.002
Clark, R. A., & Goldsmith, R. E. (2006). Interpersonal influence and consumer innovativeness. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 30(1), 34–43. https://doi. org/10 .1111/j.1470- 6431.2005 . 00435.x
Classen, B., Wood, J. K., & Davies, P. (2020). Social network sites, fear of missing out, and psychosocial correlates. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 14(3). https://doi. org/10.5817/CP2020-3-4
Columnist, M. M., SF Gate. (2010). Oh my God you are so missing out. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/morford/article/Oh-my-God-you-are-so-missing-out- 2536241.php
De Angelis, M., Bonezzi, A., Peluso, A. M., Rucker, D. D., & Costabile, M. (2012). On braggarts and gossips: A self-enhancement account of word-of-mouth generation and transmission. Journal of Marketing Research, 49(4), 551–563. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.11.0136
Demirci, K., Akgönül, M., & Akpinar, A. (2015). Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.4.2015.010
Duman, H., & Ozkara, B. Y. (2021). The impact of social identity on online game addiction: The mediating role of the fear of missing out (Fomo) and the moderating role of the need to belong. Current Psychology, 40(9), 4571–4580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00392-w
Dutot, V. (2020). A social identity perspective of social media’s impact on satisfaction with life. Psychology & Marketing, 37(6), 759–772. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21333
Elhai, J. D., Levine, J. C., Dvorak, R. D., & Hall, B. J. (2016). Fear of missing out, need for touch, anxiety and depression are related to problematic smartphone use. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 509–516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.079
Fake, A. C. (2011). Fomo and social media. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://caterina.net/2011/ 03/15/fomo-and-social-media/
Gil, F., Chamarro, A., & Oberst, U. (2015). PO-14: Addiction to online social networks: A question of" fear of missing out"? Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(S1), 51–52.
Gill, M. J., & Burrow, R. (2018). The function of fear in institutional maintenance: Feeling frightened as an essential ingredient in haute cuisine. Organization Studies, 39(4), 445–465. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0170840617709306
Girardi, P., & Chiagouris, L. (2018). The digital marketplace: Early adopters have changed. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.33423/jmdc.v12i1.1412
Graeff, T. R. (1996). Using promotional messages to manage the effects of brand and self-image on brand evaluations. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 13(3), 4–18. https : / / doi . org / 10 . 1108 / 07363769610118921
Gray, J. A. (1971). The psychology of fear and stress. Weidenfeld; Nicolson.
Herman, D. (2000). Introducing short-term brands: A new branding tool for a new consumer reality. Journal of Brand Management, 7(5), 330–340. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2000.23
Hoffner, C. A., & Lee, S. (2015). Mobile phone use, emotion regulation, and well-being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(7), 411–416. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0487
JWT. (2011). Jwt explores fear of missing out phenomenon: Report outlines how fomo is manifesting in the zeitgeist. https://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/5/prweb8378292.htm
JWT. (2012). Jwt explores fear of missing out - report, sxsw presentation spotlight how brands can leverage fomo. https://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9265660.htm
Kang, I., He, X., & Shin, M. M. (2020). Chinese consumers’ herd consumption behavior related to korean luxury cosmetics: The mediating role of fear of missing out. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 121. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00121
Kim, H.-J., Min, J.-Y., Kim, H.-J., & Min, K.-B. (2019). Association between psychological and self-assessed health status and smartphone overuse among Korean college students. Journal of Mental Health, 28(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2017.1370641
Klink, R. R., & Athaide, G. A. (2010). Consumer innovativeness and the use of new versus extended brand names for new products: Consumer innovativeness and brand names. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2009.00697.x
Lampert, M. (2021). Meet Gen Z: Redefining gender roles and challenging patriarchy. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://glocalities.com/reports/meet-gen-z
Lee, Y.-K., Chang, C.-T., Lin, Y., & Cheng, Z.-H. (2014). The dark side of smartphone usage: Psychological traits, compulsive behavior and technostress. Computers in Human Behavior, 31, 373–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.10.047
Manning, K. C., Bearden, W. O., & Madden, T. J. (1995). Consumer innovativeness and the adoption pro- cess. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 4(4), 329–345. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp0404_ 02
Midgley, D. F., & Dowling, G. R. (1978). Innovativeness: The concept and its measurement. Journal of Consumer Research, 4(4), 229. https://doi.org/10.1086/208701
Miller, S. (2012). Fear of missing out: Are you a slave to fomo? https : / / abcnews . go . com / Health / Wellness/fear-missing-slave-fomo/story?id=16629972
Nario-Redmond, M. R., Biernat, M., Eidelman, S., & Palenske, D. J. (2004). The social and personal identities scale: A measure of the differential importance ascribed to social and personal self- categorizations. Self and Identity, 3(2), 143–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576500342000103
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2d ed). McGraw-Hill.
Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841–1848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014
Qutishat, M. G. M. (2020). Academic adjustment, emotional intelligence, and fear of missing out among undergraduate students: A descriptive correlational study. Oman Medical Journal, 35(5), e174– e174. https://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2020.116
Rapp, A., Beitelspacher, L. S., Grewal, D., & Hughes, D. E. (2013). Understanding social media effects across seller, retailer, and consumer interactions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(5), 547–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-013-0326-9
Reed, A. (2002). Social identity as a useful perspective for self-concept-based consumer research. Psychology and Marketing, 19(3), 235–266. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.10011
Riordan, B. C., Flett, J. A., Hunter, J. A., Scarf, D., & Conner, T. S. (2015). Fear of missing out (fomo): The relationship between fomo, alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences in college students. Annals of Neuroscience and Psychology, 2(7), 1–7. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.7243/2055-3447-2-9
Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed) [OCLC: 700853045]. Free Press.
Rozgonjuk, D., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2021). Individual differences in Fear of Missing Out (Fomo): Age, gender, and the Big Five personality trait domains, facets, and items. Personality and Individual Differences, 171, 110546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110546
Salem, P. J. (2016). Human communication technology [OCLC: 956331419]. Sentia Publishing.
Shalev, E., & Morwitz, V. G. (2012). Influence via comparison-driven self-evaluation and restoration: The case of the low-status influencer. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(5), 964–980. https://doi.org/ 10.1086/661551
Sirgy, M. J. (1982). Self-concept in consumer behavior: A critical review. Journal of Consumer Research, 9(3), 287. https://doi.org/10.1086/208924
Smith, A. (2015). U. S. Smartphone use in 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch. org/internet/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
Statista. (2022). Number of worldwide social network users from 2017 to 2027. https://www.statista.com/ statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/
Stead, H., & Bibby, P. A. (2017). Personality, fear of missing out and problematic internet use and their relationship to subjective well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 76, 534–540. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.016
Swar, B., & Hameed, T. (2017). Fear of missing out, social media engagement, smartphone addiction and distraction: Moderating role of self-help mobile apps-based interventions in the youth: Proceedings of the 10th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies, 139–146. https://doi.org/10.5220/0006166501390146
Thanasrivanitchai, J., Moschis, G. P., & Shannon, R. (2017). Explaining older consumers’ low use of the internet. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 11(4), 355. https://doi.org/ 10.1504/IJIMA.2017.087271
Vandecasteele, B., & Geuens, M. (2010). Motivated consumer innovativeness: Concept, measurement, and validation. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 27(4), 308–318. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.ijresmar.2010.08.004
Wortham, J. (2011). Feel like a wallflower? Maybe it’s your facebook wall. The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/business/10ping.html
Zhang, Z., Jiménez, F. R., & Cicala, J. E. (2020). Fear of missing out scale: A self-concept perspective. Psychology & Marketing, 37(11), 1619–1634. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21406
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2023 Timothy Reisenwitz, Jie G. Fowler