Before COVID landed us in a state of partial lockdown, social scientists reported a psychological condition called FOMO – fear of missing out on exciting or interesting happenings, fed by photos of others having fun on social media. So what happened when all those activities shut down? That’s what researchers at UVA’s graduate school of business decided to find out.
Professor Lalin Anik has studied fear of missing out or FOMO and concluded it’s not a good thing.
“It’s associated with anxiety, stress and depression," she explains. "It also decreases motivation and it takes the joy out of experiences. In our earlier work we found that people can experience FOMO, even when they’re having a good time – suggesting that it leads to this unsettling feeling that there are better things elsewhere.”
So she was hoping people might chill out when the pandemic hit and so many events were canceled. In fact, her study of 300 young adults showed that was not the case – that they were now offered a wealth of free online activities.
“Ranging from virtual museum tours to concerts to workouts, cooking classes, and it feels like online streaming services have been releasing new series every moment," Anik says. "People imagine others are engaging in these virtual activities, and they don’t have time.”
Anxious and depressed, she says, they had trouble sleeping and staying motivated. To comfort themselves, these victims of FOMO spent more time reading about the pandemic and sharing the bad news with others – perhaps proving that misery loves company.
