The Prevalence of “FOMO” Syndrome among Youth

This study examines the prevalence of FOMO syndrome among youth and its impact on social media usage. It explores the symptoms and effects of FOMO syndrome, focusing on Singaporeans aged 18-25. The study aims to expand the knowledge on FOMO syndrome and its correlation with negative emotions.

Running head: THE PREVALENCE OF “FOMO” SYNDROME AMONG YOUTH 1
The Prevalence of “FOMO” Syndrome among Youth Paper
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Introduction
The Prevalence of “FOMO” Syndrome among Youth
Background Information
FOMO syndrome i.e. Fear of Missing Out can be defined as a feeling of apprehensiveness or anxiety
that results from a notion that one may be missing out on rewarding experiences that are being enjoyed by
others. FOMO is normally exhibited in young people and adults through the improper usage of social media; for
example texting and drive just to ensure that one does not miss out on current affairs, gossip, entertainment
news, and events. Such actions seem to signify the overwhelming importance of social connection over personal
safety and self-preservation. Over the years studies have been conducted to investigate the effect social media
has on the development of FOMO syndrome amongst young people (Al-Menayes, 2016). The ability to clearly
perceive underlying processes is vital in the examination of the problematic forms of social media usage.
According to one of the founders of Facebook, the entire process of connecting with others via a system of likes
and shares creates additive behavior in social media users. The user is forced to seek the validation of hundreds
or even thousands of people to get a “good” sense of self-worth. It has been understood for many years that
digital devices like smart-phones can be used in a series of negative ways. It is normally hypothesized by
practitioners in the medical field that the problems that arise from social media usage like FOMO syndrome are
byproducts of psychological mechanisms used by social networking platforms to keep users active (Al-
Menayes, 2016).
According to data gathering exercise conducted across seven European countries between 2011 and
2012, it was determined that 12.7% of all youthful internet users in these nations exhibited signs of Internet
addition. A data collection incentive carried out under Project EU KIDS revealed even more troublesome
information that 29% of all young social media users demonstrate between 1 to 5 signs of internet dependency
(Tomczyk & Selmanagic-Lizde, 2018). Internet addition and more specifically social media dependency
amongst young people has been a challenge across different levels (diagnostic, education, and prevention). The

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concern amongst stakeholders has caused discussions that are founded on the determination of the scale and
working of this internet addition pandemic. FOMO syndrome is considered to the direct product of excessive
and unbridled utilization of social media. The development of different classification criteria for internet usage
(i.e. asymptomatic, destructive, and threatening) eventually lead to the development of a test to measure internet
addition. This evaluation test is referred to as the Internet Addition Test (IAT) the assessment is meant to gauge
the person based on 20 commonly exhibited signs of internet abuse. Most individuals with FOMO syndrome are
like to demonstrate a significant number of the 20 common symptoms of internet abuse (Tomczyk &
Selmanagic-Lizde, 2018).
Purpose of Research
The purpose of this study is to expand the body of knowledge on FOMO syndrome with regard to social
media usage by youth. The study will focus extensively on Singaporeans aged between 18 and 25 years of age.
The study will focus on four assessment themes. The first assessment will deal with the determination of
whether youths who demonstrate FOMO syndrome have more social media account i.e. Facebook, Twitter,
Snapchat, Instagram, and Whatsapp; and the frequency with which they utilized their respective account. This
assessment will focus on the determination of breadth and depth of social media usage amongst Singaporeans
aged 18 to 25 years (Vittoria, et.al. 2018). The second assessment will examine whether youth that demonstrate
FOMO syndrome are more motivated to check on people on their connection list. The connection list will also
be evaluated with regard to close friends and strangers. For example, majority of the connection people have on
Facebook are of close friend while those on Instagram are normally from complete strangers. The remaining
two assessment themes will form the core of this study. The third assessment deals with determination of
whether exposure to social media content has a positive correlation with negative emotions in Singaporean
youth; moreover, this effect is mediated by FOMO syndrome. As such, the research will seek to establish
whether FOMO syndrome is a mediating variable between social media content and negative emotions. The last
assessment will investigate whether exposure to social media leads to the worsening of FOMO syndrome

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amongst Singaporean youth. And this elevation in FOMO syndrome leads to the development of more negative
emotions (Vittoria, et.al. 2018).

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References
Al-Menayes, J. (2016). The Fear of Missing out Scale: Validation of the Arabic Version and Correlation with
Social Media Addiction. International Journal of Applied Psychology. International Journal of Applied
Psychology , 41-46.
Tomczyk, Ł., & Selmanagic-Lizde, E. (2018). Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) among youth in Bosnia and
Herzegovina — Scale and selected mechanisms. Children and Youth Services Review , 88.
Vittoria, F., Mariek, V. A., Antonius, J. v., & Gianluca, L. C. (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 , 1-18.