Effect of Fomo on Loneliness and Life Satisfaction among Young Adults

Abstract

Fear of missing out, popularly known as FOMO is a phenomenon which leads individuals to feel anxious that they are missing out on interesting, exciting and productive events or experiences. By FOMO, individuals tend to develop a compulsion to stay connected and be aware of events happening around them and it is aroused much by the posts on social media. Currently, individuals have a tendency to evaluate their lives based on FOMO and it also affects their self-esteem. Therefore, FOMO can possibly affect the life satisfaction of an individual and also increase their feeling of loneliness since they feel they are the only ones left out and the rest of the world is being involved in some events or experiences. Thus, this study was conducted with an objective of understanding the effect of FOMO on loneliness and life satisfaction among young adults. The study followed a quasi-experimental design wherein 19, 20 and 21 individuals with low, moderate and high FOMO respectively were chosen as samples (N= 60) and data was collected. One-way ANOVA was run on the data using SPSS and the results shows that there is no significant difference in loneliness and life satisfaction among young adults with low, moderate and high FOMO. Though FOMO acts as a stressor for most of the young adults, it is not reflecting on their life satisfaction and their feeling of loneliness.