The Impact of FOMO and Social Media on Communication and Well-being

This essay examines the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) syndrome and its significant impact on individuals, particularly teenagers and adults, due to the widespread use of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The research explores FOMO's role in social media addiction, leading to feelings of being lost and inadequacy when comparing oneself to others online. The essay highlights the detrimental effects of FOMO, including social anxiety, inferiority complexes, and mood swings, which negatively affect mental and physical health. The author provides insights into overcoming this addiction by limiting social media usage and engaging in alternative activities like reading and socializing. The essay also references several studies to support the claims made and offers a comprehensive understanding of the issue, emphasizing the need for self-awareness and strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of FOMO and social media addiction.

Running head: COMMUNICATION
Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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FOMO is one of the major concepts that are arising in the modern day scenario. Many of
the individuals, particularly the teenagers and the adults are getting this FOMO syndrome. They
suffer a huge trauma and a feeling of being lost in the social world. FOMO is mainly caused due
to the large-scale use of the social media like the twitter, facebook, Instagram and many other
such social networking sites (Abel, Buff & Burr, 2016). This topic has been selected for being
researched so that I can be able to overcome the problem of addiction. Some of the objectives
that I have set for myself before researching this topic are-
 To overcome the social network addiction.
 To find out alternative means of overcoming this FOMO problem
This research has really been very helpful to me. It has been seen that social media sites like
the facebook, twitter, Instagram and many other such platforms is becoming an inseparable part
of the life of so many individuals. In particular, the school and college students are finding it
impossible to spend even a single day without sneaking into the newsfeeds, messages or various
other kinds of notification that they are receiving in their Facebook or Instagram profile. So, this
is like a drug that is getting within the nerves of these individuals and they are really finding it
very tough to come out from this addiction (Hill, Betts & Gardner, 2015).
The other most alarming ill effects of this FOMO syndrome is suffering from the feeling of
being lost or missed out by seeing others at a particular position that they themselves cannot
teach. In other words, many of the school students or the adolescents are following many
celebrities online and are getting jealousy seeing their ways of living. They want to imitate it and
attain the same (Oberst et al., 2017). However, this is not really possible to get that same rich and
glamorous life that is being led by the celebrities. So, this often puts unnecessary feelings of

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depression and this FOMO (the feeling of missed out) feeling on the individuals. This, in turn,
has many harmful effects on the metal and the physical health of the individuals. They often start
showing signs like social anxiety, inferiority feelings, lack of self-confidence and also a lack of
self-esteem.
They feel that they are not good enough and thus hate themselves a great deal. They also
become very unsocial. They suffer a feeling of inferiority complex. They feel that they are being
deprived of something that is available to many others. This also creates a huge mood sling
among these individuals (Blackwell et al., 2017). Overall FOMO creates a very harmful effect on
the mental and social well being of the individuals.
In order to overcome these ill effects, the victims must start taking up challenges that will ask
them to stay away from the usage of the social media. This might be tough initially but with
proper guidance, the students can actually accomplish the challenge. This will be for their own
good. They will have alternative sources like books, socializing with friends and family. They
will get a life outside the social network sites. They will be able to socialize and have a fresh
mind.

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References and Bibliography
Abel, J. P., Buff, C. L., & Burr, S. A. (2016). Social media and the fear of missing out: Scale
development and assessment. Journal of Business & Economics Research (Online),
14(1), 33.
Alt, D. (2015). College students’ academic motivation, media engagement and fear of missing
out. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, 111-119.
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.
Hill, R., Betts, L. R., & Gardner, S. E. (2015). Older adults’ experiences and perceptions of
digital technology:(Dis) empowerment, wellbeing, and inclusion. Computers in Human
Behavior, 48, 415-423.
Oberst, U., Wegmann, E., Stodt, B., Brand, M., & Chamarro, A. (2017). Negative consequences
from heavy social networking in adolescents: The mediating role of fear of missing out.
Journal of adolescence, 55, 51-60.