Social Media Engagement: A Cause for Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)?

Social media, a relatively recent phenomenon, fosters active
participation and diverse opinions among users, facilitating
increased connection and engagement within the online
community. Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is characterized by
an intense desire to stay continuously informed about others'
activities, coupled with an uneasy sense of potentially missing out
on experiences. Studies indicate that FoMO significantly predicts
adverse outcomes from excessive social media use. Thus, the
present research aimed to i) explore the influence of social media
usage on Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) among college students
and ii) examine gender differences in FoMO and social media
utilization. The findings revealed a robust correlation between
FoMO and social media activity, with the latter emerging as a
significant predictor of the former. Furthermore, noteworthy
gender differences were observed in both FoMO and social media
engagement.