Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and its relation with Depression and Anxiety among University Students

Abstract

FoMO stands for "Fear of Missing Out", and it was found that greater FoMO reported a high level of depression and anxiety. Results from this cross-sectional study revealed that the majority of the participants had a low level of FoMO and normally scored on depression and anxiety. A significant positive relationship was found between FoMO and psychological variables, and the results also highlighted considerable gender differences in the prevalence of FoMO. Findings may provide insight and further understanding about this phenomenon and how FoMO is not only fulfilling the relatedness needs but also leading to psychological distress.

Keywords: fear of missing out, depression, anxiety, university students

eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i20.3358