Analysis of predictive variables for the fear of missing out on social media users: a systematic review

Year 2023, Issue: 3 - September 2023, 125 - 131, 03.10.2023

Tolga Türkan

Abstract

The development of technology has facilitated our lives, but alongside its positive outcomes, it has also brought negative effects. Due to these negative impacts, the fear of missing out on advancements (FoMO) has emerged in our lives. The purpose of this research is to explain and discuss the predictors of the fear of missing out on advancements. Since the concept of FoMO is relatively new in the Turkish literature, this study will provide guidance and contribute to future research. Nine thesis studies related to the fear of missing out on advancements, published only in the field of psychology after 2020, were included in this research through the National Thesis Center. Due to the limited number of studies and the qualitative research method used, it is not possible to generalize the results. The fear of missing out on advancements has been examined particularly in relation to nomophobia, problematic mobile phone usage, internet addiction, and social media addiction. The majority of existing studies in the literature are correlational. To strengthen the significance levels of these findings, increase causal research, include qualitative studies, employ objective measurement tools, and conduct research with more generalizable results are recommended.

Keywords

fear of mising out, problematic mobile phone use, internet addiction, social media addiction

References

• Baumeister, R. F. & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.
• Blackwell, D., Leaman, C., Tramposch, R., Osborne, C. & Liss, M. (2017). Extraversion, neuroticism, attachment style and fear of missing out as predictors of social media use and addiction. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 69-72.
• Doğan, V. (2019). Why do people experience the fear of missing out (fomo)? Exposing the link between the self and the fomo through self-construal. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 50(4), 524-538.
• 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
• Franchina, V., Vanden Abeele, M., Van Rooij, A. J., Lo Coco, G. & De Marez, L. (2018). Fear of missing out as a predictor of problematic social media use and phubbing behavior among flemish adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 1-18.
• Gökler, M. E., Aydin, R., Ünal, E. & Metintaş, S. (2016). Sosyal ortamlarda gelişmeleri kaçırma korkusu ölçeğinin Türkçe sürümünün geçerlilik ve güvenirliliğinin değerlendirilmesi (Determining validity and reliability of Turkish version of fear of missing out scale). Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 17, 53–59.
• Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C. & Young, J. (2018). No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751-768.
• Kartol, A. & Peker, A. (2020). Ergenlerde sosyal ortamlarda gelişmeleri kaçırma korkusu (fomo) yordayıcılarının Iincelenmesi. OPUS Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi, 15(21), 456-474.
• Milyavskaya, M., Saffran, M., Hope, N. & Koestner, R. (2018). Fear of missing out: Prevalence, dynamics, and consequences of experiencing fomo. Motivation and Emotion, 42(5), 725-737.
• Mueller, A. S., Pearson, J., Muller, C., Frank, K. ve Turner, A. (2010). Sizing up peers: Adolescent girls’ weight control and social comparison in the school context. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(1), 64–78.
• 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.
• Roberts, J. A. & David, M. E. (2019). The social media party: Fear of missing out (fomo), social media intensity, connection, and well-being. International Journal of Human– Computer Interaction, 36(1), 1–7.
• 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, 1-6.
• 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.
• Uram, P. ve Skalski, S. (2020). Still logged in? the link between facebook addiction, fomo, self-esteem, life satisfaction and loneliness in social media users. Psychological Reports, 1-14.