Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) as Really Lived: Five Classifications and one Ecology

Aarif Alutaybi, John McAlaney, Emily Arden-Close, Angelos Stefanidis, Keith Phalp, Raian Ali

Research output: Chapter in Book or Report/Conference proceedingConference Proceedingpeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Social media provides a platform for information sharing and dissemination and has speedily become a popular method for individuals to relate to others regardless of the time and geographical distance. However, this wealth of connectivity and availability of information may lead to the experience of the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) that typically refers to a preoccupation of the users of social media about lost opportunities when they are offline or unable to connect and communicate as wished. Despite the recognition of the concept, studies around FoMO have used offline data collection techniques such as interviews, focus groups and surveys. This has led to a limited understanding of the lived FoMO experience and a rather simplified and coarse-grained view of the concept. In this paper, we delve into the specifics and nuances of FoMO through multi-stage qualitative research, including interviews, diary study and three focus group sessions and elaborate upon the concept and determine its various manifestations and classification. The lived experience is mainly gathered through a diary study. We present five main classifications characterising FoMO and develop an ecology for it.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBESC 2019 - 6th International Conference on Behavioral, Economic and Socio-Cultural Computing, Proceedings
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781728147628
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2019
Externally publishedYes
Event6th International Conference on Behavioral, Economic and Socio-Cultural Computing, BESC 2019 - Beijing, China
Duration: 28 Oct 201930 Oct 2019

Publication series

NameBESC 2019 - 6th International Conference on Behavioral, Economic and Socio-Cultural Computing, Proceedings

Conference

Conference6th International Conference on Behavioral, Economic and Socio-Cultural Computing, BESC 2019
Country/TerritoryChina
CityBeijing
Period28/10/1930/10/19

Keywords

  • Cyberpsychology
  • Digital Wellbeing
  • Fear of Missing Out
  • Social media

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) as Really Lived: Five Classifications and one Ecology'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this