Social Media Disease: Fear of Missing Out in Teens

Authors

Salwa Hafidzah 1st, Najwa Vidya Nikallaya 2nd, Tatu Tazkiyatun Nufus 3rd

Psychology Faculty of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

The phenomenon of FOMO is familiar to us, especially among teenagers. Teenagers who are experiencing a period of development towards young adulthood that develops along with the advancement of technology make teenagers familiar with the presence of the internet. Social media that functions as a source of information and making new friends makes teenagers love social media. In addition, social media has an impact on adolescents, namely FOMO. Thus, this study aims to analyse FOMO behaviour in teenagers, factors and impacts of FOMO on teenagers, and social media as an influence on FOMO behaviour in teenagers. This research uses literature review as a research method. The result of this study is that FOMO syndrome is bad for teenagers and research shows that the intensity of social media use and FOMO are interrelated.

Introduction

Quoted from CNN news, FOMO cases have occurred in Australia in The Stress and Wellbeing survey published on 8 November 2015. The survey stated that at least one in two teenagers in Australia experienced stress caused by social media disease or FOMO. With that, it can be concluded that some teenagers in Australia suffer from FOMO. The statistics say that 63 percent of teens experience the fear of missing out on information from their friends. 54 percent of teens are afraid that their friends will have more valuable experiences on social media than them. And, 60 percent of teens were found to be afraid of their friends having fun without inviting them. 

Nowadays, FOMO is not uncommon. In the news above, almost all teenagers have experienced FOMO. The presence of FOMO can have a negative effect on teenagers. Adolescence is a transition period from children to young adults where in its development adolescents are required to make changes to physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial. It is certainly not easy for teenagers to live their days. On the other hand, the internet world has also developed. With the internet, we can easily get global information and broaden our horizons that can be found on social media. Smartphones that come as part of the development of the internet also encourage individuals to develop social interactions and make new friends. With that, many people feel at home to stay active on social media in order to stay in existence. Without realising it, this behaviour can lead to a sense of FOMO. FOMO is any activity done to stay connected to other people's activities (Christina 2019). 

In previous research, it has been argued that FOMO is amplified by technological advances, as social media easily accesses what is going on, making it easier to be aware of the experience. However, they also argue that adolescents can experience FOMO without being influenced by social media. With that, the researcher is interested in discussing "Social Media Disease: The Fear of Being Left Behind in Adolescents." This research aims to discuss and further examine FOMO in teenagers, the factors and causes of FOMO in teenagers, the impact of FOMO on teenagers, and social media as an influence on FOMO behaviour in teenagers. With that, it is hoped that this research can provide further understanding of FOMO in adolescents, factors and causes of FOMO in adolescents, the impact of FOMO on adolescents, and social media as an influence on FOMO behaviour in adolescents.

Literature Review

a. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

FOMO is commonly referred to as "fear of missing out." According to Christina (2019), FOMO is what a person needs to know about other people's activities. The state in which a person views other people's activities more than their own is known as Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). FOMO is any activity done to stay connected to other people's activities (Christina 2019). The highest level of FOMO is something that makes a person afraid of missing out on using the internet, especially social media for adolescents who are transitioning into early adulthood (Przybylski et al., 2014). FOMO is also known as the fear of being left behind from all the experiences and activities of others and a position where a person values other people's activities more than their own.

b. Factors that Influence and Impact of FOMO for Adolescents

Adolescence is a transitional period from childhood to early adulthood. (Gumantan, Mahfud, et al., 2021). Adolescence is a transition between childhood and early adulthood which causes changes in physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial. (Fahrizqi et al., n.d). In early adulthood, adolescents are required to be able to make the transition to be able to achieve adult social goals. One of the things that is difficult to do is adaptation in the social environment. On the other hand, technological developments are also developing rapidly so that adolescents find it difficult to avoid the development of circulating technology, one of which is social media. Social media has an influence on adolescents, namely identity crisis. With the creation of social media, teenagers are made to have high curiosity, always want to explore themselves in new things, and are easily attracted to their friends. In fact, individuals who do not have high curiosity, do not always want to explore themselves in new things, and are not easily attracted to their friends have a freer spirit in expressing their opinions. In addition, adolescents also consider social media as a place to maintain social relationships and tend to rely on social media to fulfil their social needs (Lee & Chiou, 2013).

1. Factors that influence FOMO in adolescents

In a journal entitled "Social Media and Fear of Missing Out Scale Development and Assessment" says that the basis of FOMO is when individuals feel lost, someone who easily experiences feelings of irritability, anxiety, and inadequacy. Inadequacy is often seen as shame, which is an occurrence where a person views themselves as inferior in some way (Seu, 2006). Feelings of inadequacy can lead to low self-esteem. On the other hand, feelings of inferiority can lead to petty resentment, irritability, and rudeness (Buss and Durkee, 1957). In addition, anxiety is related to FOMO. Anxiety can make individuals feel left behind because they cannot do what they are seeing. 

1. The impact of FOMO on adolescents

According to the journal "The Impact of FOMO Syndrome on Social Interaction in Youth" states that FOMO syndrome has a bad impact on adolescents, namely the lack of social interaction with their peers. Research conducted by the Australian psychology professional organisation found that teenagers spend 2.7 hours per day on social media and significantly more teenagers experience the FOMO phenomenon than adults. It is also true that FOMO has a significant adverse impact, namely losing useful experiences from others and anxiety symptoms. And according to research by Francis and Newman (2016) Fears of Missing Out cause sleep deprivation especially in students.

c. Social Media as One of the Things that Affect FOMO in Adolescents

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is one of the phenomena that arise in social media users. Anxiety about losing precious moments of an individual or group where the individual is not present in it and is characterised by a desire to stay connected to what others are doing through the internet or cyberspace can be called FOMO. In short, the phenomenon of a person's desire to stay connected to others is the definition of FOMO (Juliana, 2023). Miller (2012) suggests that a person will feel left behind if he constantly follows updates from other people's lives on social media and compares his life with others on social media. He sees other people's updates such as parties, fancy dinners, and brilliant careers and can cause self dissatisfaction, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness (Sulistianti & Sugiarta, 2022). The negative effects of fear of missing out (FOMO) according to Setiad and Agus (in Salwanisa, 2023) are depression and low self-confidence. This is caused by excessive use of social media.

Fear of missing out (FOMO) is dissatisfaction with one's life, a desire to use devices while walking or driving, neglecting one's personal life and focusing too much on the lives of others on social media, experiencing sleep interruptions, and not being able to fully enjoy being together in the real world. Anxiety and worry if they have not checked social media as well as obsession with the actions of others and fear that they cannot exist on social media can be caused by FOMO (Bee, 2016). Based on research, there is a significant influence between FOMO behaviour in adolescents and the intensity of social media use. In addition, cyber bullying behaviour is also influenced by social media intensity and FOMO behaviour. The higher the intensity of social media use, the higher the FOMO behaviour. Conversely, the lower the intensity of social media use, the lower the FOMO behaviour (Azizah & Zahid, 2023). 

Being accepted and connected with peers is important during adolescence (Desjarlais & Willoughby, 2010). Therefore, adolescents are keen to access social media to satisfy their need to belong to a social group. However, anxiety may occur when they feel they are missing out on important experiences with their friends (Oberst, Wegmann, Stodt, Brand, & Chamarro, 2017). Therefore, teenagers will tend to continue to access social media to get the latest news. Meanwhile, according to Song, Zhang, Zhao, & Song (2017) FOMO in the context of social media on smartphones is a social phenomenon that makes a number of smartphone users check their smartphones frequently and fixate on the applications in them. They want to get certain experiences from smartphones constantly. However, if these needs are not fulfilled, they will feel anxious, uncomfortable, depressed, confused, feel lacking, and others.

Adolescence is an age where one experiences a gap between what is expected and the reality. They want to have what others have on social media, be it materials, experiences, partners, or other people's behaviour. Unmet psychological needs such as autonomy, competence and relatedness are things that influence this in adolescents. (Se'u & Rahayu, 2022). Therefore, FOMO behaviour mostly occurs in adolescents. According to JWT Intelligence, 70% of people aged 18-34 relate to FOMO, which is the age of late adolescence to early adulthood. However, late adolescence is more associated with FOMO.

FOMO is one of the factors that influence social media addiction (Fathadika & Afriani, 2018). Apart from FOMO, social anxiety (Azka, Firdaus, & Kurbiadewi, 2018) and loneliness (Miftaburrahmah & Harabap, 2020) can also affect social media addiction. Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan, & Gladwell (2013) said that everyone who experiences FOMO can allow themselves to be tied to social media. Research conducted by the Australian Psychological Society states that the average teenager plays social media for 2.7 hours per day and is declared to experience FOMO. This research also states that teenagers experience FOMO more (50%) than adults (25%).

Methodology

The research method used in this research is qualitative research that uses the library research method by collecting information by reading articles, journals, and books that focus on the topic "Social Media That Affects FOMO In Teens" and collecting data through analysing previous research that discusses related themes.

Result and Finding

FOMO is an important psychological condition in the digital age. Several surveys and studies have addressed the condition of FOMO with psychological scales and physiological monitoring. Some of these surveys and studies have examined FOMO and its relationship with social media use, factors that influence FOMO behavior, and the impact that can occur from it. Preliminary evidence suggests that FOMO is age-related and more prevalent in adolescents.

FOMO is any activity done to stay connected to other people's activities. The basis of FOMO is when individuals feel lost, someone who easily experiences feelings of irritability, anxiety, and inadequacy. All of that can make individuals feel left behind because they cannot do what they are seeing. FOMO syndrome has a bad impact on adolescents, namely the lack of social interaction with their peers, losing useful experiences from others, anxiety symptoms, and sleep deprivation. FOMO behaviour mostly occurs in adolescents because adolescence is a transition between childhood and early adulthood which causes changes in physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial.

Research shows that the intensity of social media use and FOMO are related. The greater the intensity of social media use, the greater a person's tendency to FOMO. This happens because the person is always updated about what is happening on social media, thus encouraging the person to always want to try the same thing as others and become FOMO. Conversely, the intensity of social media use can also be influenced by FOMO behavior. Initially, a person has a tendency to FOMO because they are afraid of being left behind compared to their friends. From there, they started to access social media more to stay updated with the latest information and trends in order to be accepted by their group.

Someone who experiences FOMO will feel happy and create a sense of addiction in accessing social media. Conversely, if the individual cannot access social media freely, it will cause feelings of discomfort, anxiety, and restlessness. They will consider themselves uninformed and disconnected from their social environment. For fear of missing out on information, they start accessing social media for longer periods of time, without even thinking about the place and time. This then triggers bad behaviors such as always checking social media all the time, having no empathy for the social environment and prioritizing social media, always wanting to know other people's lives, having a curiosity about the latest issues, and behaving extravagantly because they don't want to miss the latest trends.

FOMO, social media, anxiety and adolescence are interconnected. Adolescence is an age that is synonymous with anxiety and other psychological conditions because it is an age of transition from childhood to adulthood. Anxiety and other psychological conditions such as self-distrust can be an influencing factor as well as the impact of FOMO. Social media is also affected in this regard. A person may experience FOMO due to anxiety and fear of missing out on the latest information. From there, the intensity of social media use begins to increase. The more often they access social media, it can lead to insecurity because they are always comparing their lives with other people's lives on social media. In higher stages, it can lead to conditions such as depression and obsession with social media which can cause a decrease in quality of life.

An example of the FOMO phenomenon that has occurred in Indonesia is crypto. Crypto coins were trending and made many people fall victim to FOMO. Because of its popularity, some well-known celebrities in Indonesia even released their own crypto coins and claimed that the coin was able to "go to the moon". Like other cases of FOMO, this trend is also dwindling and harming many people. Another example is the recent viral food trend, cromboloni. Initially, not many people knew about this food. But as more and more people discussed it on social media, more and more content creators and food vloggers joined in reviewing the food. Some even make it at home and use this as an opportunity to open their own business.

Conclusion

Anxiety about losing precious moments of an individual or group where the individual is not present in it and is characterised by a desire to stay connected to what others are doing through the internet or cyberspace can be called FOMO. The basis of FOMO is when individuals feel lost, someone who easily experiences feelings of irritability, anxiety, and inadequacy. All of that can make individuals feel left behind because they cannot do what they are seeing. FOMO syndrome has a bad impact on adolescents, namely the lack of social interaction with their peers, losing useful experiences from others, anxiety symptoms, and sleep deprivation, especially in students. FOMO behaviour mostly occurs in adolescents because adolescence is a transition between childhood and early adulthood which causes changes in physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial.

Being accepted and connected with peers is important during adolescence. Therefore, adolescents are keen to access social media to satisfy their need to belong to a social group. However, anxiety may occur when they feel they are missing out on important experiences with their friends. Therefore, teenagers will tend to continue to access social media to get the latest news. That's why there is a significant influence between FOMO behaviour in adolescents and the intensity of social media use. The higher the intensity of social media use, the higher the FOMO behaviour. Conversely, the lower the intensity of social media use, the lower the FOMO behaviour. 

Actually, FOMO behavior will not be a problem as long as it is not done excessively and accompanied by emotional control. FOMO behavior can make us always curious about the latest news or issues that can be useful for life. For example, news about the current political situation. FOMO towards this will make us have broader insights and can increase awareness of the current state of the country. To avoid FOMO behavior, there are several things that can be done. These include limiting the use of social media, respecting yourself, focusing on yourself and the goals you want to achieve, developing hobbies, sorting out what content or topics you see on social media, and so on.

References

Marsela, M. (2015). Half of Australian Teens Suffer from 'Social Media Disease' Retrieved November 10, 2015, from https://www.cnnindonesia.com/teknologi/20151110090125-185-90598/separuh-remaja-australia-menderita-penyakit-media-sosial. Article

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. Journal

Beyens, I., Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2016). "I don't want to miss a thing": Adolescents' fear of missing out and its relationship to adolescents' social needs, Facebook use, and Facebook related stress. Computers in human behavior, 64, 1-8. Journal

Wati, V. A., Pratikto, H., & Aristawati, A. R. (2022). Fear of missing out pada remaja di Surabaya: Bagaimana peranan regulasi diri?. INNER: Journal of Psychological Research, 2(3), 297-303. Journal

Narti, S., & Yanto, Y. (2022). Kajian Dampak Perilaku Fomo (Fear Of Missing Out) Bagi Masyarakat Di Masa Pandemi Covid-19. Jurnal Sosial dan Sains, 2(1), 126-134. Journal

Rozgonjuk, D., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020). Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and social media's impact on daily-life and productivity at work: Do WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat Use Disorders mediate that association?. Addictive Behaviors, 110, 106487. Journal

Pratama, D. (2021). Karakteristik Perkembangan Remaja. Jurnal Edukasimu, 1(3). 1-9. Journal. 

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 (JBER), 14(1), 33-44. Journal

Sirait, P. N. S., & Brahmana, K. M. (2023). Pengaruh Intensitas Penggunaan Media Sosial terhadap Perilaku Fear Of Missing Out (Fomo) pada Remaja. Innovative: Journal Of Social Science Research, 3(4), 6535-6548. Journal.

Rahardjo, L. K. D., & Soetjiningsih, C. H. (2022). Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) dengan Kecanduan Media Sosial pada Mahasiswa. Bulletin of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 4(2), 456-461. Journal. 

Utami, P. D., & Aviani, Y. I. (2021). Hubungan Antara Regulasi Diri dengan Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) pada Remaja Pengguna Instagram. Jurnal Pendidikan Tambusai, 5(1), 177-185. Journal. 

Elhai, J. D., Yang, H., & Montag, C. (2020). Fear of missing out (FOMO): Overview, Theoretical Underpinnings, and Literature Review on Relations with Severity of Negative Affectivity and Problematic Technology Use. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 203-209. Journal. 

Ningtyas, R. F. A., & Wiyono, B. D. (2020). Studi Mengenai Kecanduan Internet dan Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) pada Siswa di SMK Negeri 1 Driyorejo. ejournal.unesa.ac.id. 413-419. Journal. 

Taswiyah, T. (2022). Mengantisipasi Gejala Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Terhadap Dampak Sosial Global 4.0 dan 5.0 Melalui Subjective Well-Being dan Joy of Missing Out (JoMO). Jurnal Pendidikan Karakter JAWARA (Jujur, Adil, Wibawa, Amanah, Religius, Akuntabel), 8(1). 103-119.  Journal.