The New Disease of the Modern Age: What Is the Fear of Missing Out “FOMO”? A Review

Abstract

Social networks have become a very important part of human life in recent years. This situation has led to new definitions such as the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). FOMO can be defined as the concern that others can have a good experience when the person is absent and therefore the person wants to stay on social networks constantly to avoid missing anything. It is especially common in young people. Problematic internet use, psychosocial factors, social network use and anxiety are blamed in its etiology. Family conflicts, loneliness, depression, and low self-efficacy can be said as risk factors. People constantly want to spend time on social networks, daily life activities are blocked and the person's productivity decreases. It has no place in diagnostic classifications. For FOMO, the fear of missing out scale developed by Przybylski can be used. It is reported that FOMO has a significant positive relationship with nomophobia. There is no specific treatment method. There is a need for extensive research on FOMO.