FOMO, or the fear of missing out on experiences we deem worthwhile, may make people feel they aren’t living their lives as fully as their counterparts are. Surprisingly, social media doesn’t seem to directly cause this phenomenon: Research has shown that people with no social media presence experience FOMO to the same degree as any social media-addicted person would.
Research on FOMO can be traced to work by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, psychologists who examined human motivation and personality in their 1985 book, Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation in Human Behavior. According to Deci and Ryan’s work on self-determination theory, we require autonomy, sufficient intellect and skills, and connection with others. If people’s basic psychological needs aren’t met, they are more likely to experience what is now called FOMO.
The sensation was later recognized by marketing strategist Dan Herman. When analyzing 1990s consumer trends, Herman observed how shoppers had developed “the ambition to exhaust all possibilities and the fear of missing out on something” in a 2000 Journal of Brand Management paper.
