The fear of missing out, or FOMO, refers to the feeling or perception that others are having more fun, living better lives, or experiencing better things than you are. It involves a deep sense of envy and affects self-esteem.

It’s not just the sense that there might be better things that you could be doing at this moment, but it is the feeling that you are missing out on something fundamentally important that others are experiencing right now.

The phenomenon is becoming increasingly common—in part thanks to social media—and can cause significant stress in your life. It can affect just about anyone, but some people are at greater risk.

Here is what you should know about the history of FOMO, what research says, how to recognize it in your life, and how to manage FOMO to keep it from negatively affecting your happiness.

Brief History of FOMO

The idea that you might be missing out on a good time is not new to our era. However, while it has presumably been around for centuries (you can see evidence of FOMO in ancient texts), it has only been studied during the past few decades, beginning with a 1996 research paper by marketing strategist, Dr. Dan Herman, who coined the term “fear of missing out.”1

Since the advent of social media, however, FOMO has become more obvious and has been studied more often. Social media has accelerated the OMO phenomenon in several ways. It provides a situation in which you are comparing your regular life to the highlights of others’ lives.

Therefore, your sense of “normal” becomes skewed and you seem to be doing worse than your peers. You might see detailed photos of your friends enjoying fun times without you, which is something that people may not have been so readily aware of in past generations.

Social media creates a platform for bragging; it is where things, events, and even happiness itself seems to be in competition at times. People are comparing their best, picture-perfect experiences, which may lead you to wonder what you are lacking.

Related Terms

Inspired by FOMO, several other related concepts have also emerged:

• FOBO (Fear of Better Options): This refers to fearing that you are missing out on potentially better alternatives.
• MOMO (Mystery of Missing Out): This refers to fearing that you are missing out but not having any clues about what you’re missing out on.
• ROMO: (Reality of Missing Out): This refers to knowing that you aren’t missing out on anything.
• FOJI (Fear of Joining In): The fear of sharing things on social media but not garnering any response.
• JOMO (Joy of Missing Out): This is the opposite of FOMO and refers to positive feelings about missing out or disconnecting from social media.

Research on FOMO

As more research on FOMO is conducted and becomes available, we are getting a clearer picture of what it entails and how it affects us. The picture is not pretty, as there are many negative effects of FOMO, and it is more common than you might expect. Consider the following:

Social Networking Sites

Unsurprisingly, adolescents use social networking sites at a high rate and may experience FOMO as a result. Interestingly, however, FOMO acts as a mechanism that triggers higher social networking usage.

FOMO, Age, and Gender

People of all ages can experience FOMO, several studies have found. One study in the Psychiatry Research journal found that the fear of missing out was linked to greater smartphone and social media usage and that this link was not associated with age or gender.3

So what is the key cause of FOMO? While multiple factors likely play a role, the research also found that social media use and “problematic” smartphone usage were linked with a greater experience of FOMO. Smartphone usage was related to fears of negative and even positive evaluations by others as well as linked to negative effects on mood.

Adolescents and young people may be particularly susceptible to the effects of FOMO. Seeing friends and others posting on social media can lead to comparison and an intense fear of missing out on things their peers are experiencing.