Home⇛Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal⇛vol. 43 no. 2 (2025)

The Correlation Between Fear of Missing Out and Sense of Belongingness among Young Adults

Hughnixie Paccarangan | Princess Leila Daduyo | Micaela Anne Espiritu | Jhun Himoldang

Discipline: others in psychology

 

Abstract:

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is an emotional reaction of being left out on what others are doing or not being updated to what is in the present while sense of belongingness is how connected an individual to a certain group. In gathering the data, the researchers targeted the young adults aged 18-26 years old residing in Quezon City, District 5. In line with the research instruments, the researchers used the Fear of Missing Out Scale by Przybylski (2013) and the Sense of Belonging Instrument by Hagurty and Patusky (1995). The Sense of Belonging Instrument consists of two subtests which are the SOBI-P and SOBI-A. The SOBI-P measures the psychological state of the respondents while the SOBI-A refers to antecedents to sense of belonging that consists of everyday situations.



References:

  1. Ahn, M. Y., & Davis, H. (2019). Four domains of students’ sense of belonging to university. Studies in Higher Education, 45(3), 622–634. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1564902
  2. Alabri, A. (2022). Fear of missing out (FOMO): the effects of the need to belong, perceived centrality, and fear of social exclusion. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2022, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4824256
  3. Allen, K. (2020). The psychology of belonging. In Routledge eBooks. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429327681
  4. Allen, K., & Kern, M. L. (2017). School belonging in adolescents. In SpringerBriefs in psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5996-4
  5. Allen, K., Kern, M. L., Rozek, C. S., McInerney, D. M., & Slavich, G. M. (2021). Belonging: a review of conceptual issues, an integrative framework, and directions for future research. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1883409
  6. Allen, Kelly-Ann & Arslan, Gökmen & Craig, Heather & Arefi, Sedigheh & Yaghoobzadeh, Ameneh & Sharif-Nia, Hamid. (2021). The psychometric evaluation of the sense of belonging instrument (SOBI) with Iranian older adults. BMC Geriatrics. 21. 10.1186/s12877-021-02115-y.
  7. Altuwairiqi, M., Jiang, N., & Ali, R. (2019). Problematic attachment to social Media: Five Behavioural Archetypes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2136. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122136
  8. Arslan, G., Allen, K., & Ryan, T. (2020). Exploring the Impacts of School Belonging on Youth Wellbeing and Mental Health among Turkish Adolescents. Child Indicators Research, 13(5), 1619–1635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09721-z
  9. Brooms, D. R. (2019). Not in this alone: Black men’s bonding, learning, and sense of belonging in Black Male Initiative programs. The Urban Review, 51(5), 748–767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-019-00506-5
  10. Brown, L., & Kuss, D. J. (2020). Fear of missing out, mental wellbeing, and social connectedness: A Seven-Day Social Media Abstinence Trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4566. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124566
  11. Browne, B., Aruguete, M., McCutcheon, L., & Medina, A. M. (2018, May 8). Research Gate.https://www.researchgate.net/profile/LynnMccutcheon/publication/325347912_Social_and_emotional_correlates_of_the_fear_of_missing_out/links/5b0d6f4fa6fdcc8c25396188/Social-and-emotional-correlates-of-the-fear-of-missing-out.pdf
  12. Buckles, T., Vaid, M., Pritchard, M., Schoenherr, H., Nelson, M., & Malouf, K. (n.d.). Examining belonging and the fear of missing out in relation to social media use: a Two-Part study. UTC Scholar. https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol29/iss1/20/?utm_source=scholar.utc.edu%2Fmps%2Fvol29%2Fiss1%2F20&utm_medium=PDF&utm
  13. Cockshaw, W., & Shochet, I. M. (2010). The link between belongingness and depressive symptoms: An exploration in the workplace interpersonal context. Australian Psychologist, 45(4), 283–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050061003752418
  14. Çoşkun, S., & Muslu, G. K. (2019). Investigation of problematic mobile phones use and fear of missing out (FOMO) level in adolescents. Community Mental Health Journal, 55(6), 1004–1014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00422-8
  15. Dempsey, A. E., O’Brien, K. D., Tiamiyu, M. F., & Elhai, J. D. (2019). Fear of missing out (FoMO) and rumination mediate relations between social anxiety and problematic Facebook use. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 9, 100150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2018.100150
  16. Devi, B., Lepcha, M., & Basnet, S. (2022). APPLICATION OF CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH DESIGN IN NURSING AND MEDICAL RESEARCH. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/YRZ68
  17. Dogan, V. (2019). Why Do People Experience the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)? Exposing the Link Between the Self and the FoMO Through Self-Construal. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 50(4), 524-538. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022119839145
  18. Einstein, D. A., Dabb, C., & Ferrari, M. (2023). FoMO, but not self-compassion, moderates the link between social media use and anxiety in adolescence. Australian Journal of Psychology, 75(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2217961
  19. Gupta, M., & Sharma, A. (2021). Fear of missing out: A brief overview of origin, theoretical underpinnings and relationship with mental health. World Journal of Clinical Cases, 9(19), 4881–4889. https://doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v9.i19.4881
  20. Hayran, C., & Anik, L. (2021). Well-Being and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) on Digital Content in the Time of COVID-19: A Correlational Analysis among University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041974
  21. Halcrow, F., & Cox, S. (2020). Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (2020), Supporting students’ sense of belonging – Every student is known, valued and cared for in our schools [Review of Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (2020), Supporting students’ sense of belonging – Every student is known, valued and cared for in our schools]. NSW Department of Education.
  22. Holte, A. J., & Ferraro, F. R. (2020). Anxious, bored, and (maybe) missing out: Evaluation of anxiety attachment, boredom proneness, and fear of missing out (FoMO). Computers in Human Behavior, 112, 106465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106465
  23. Jose, P. E., Ryan, N., & Pryor, J. (2012). Does social connectedness promote a greater sense of Well‐Being in adolescence over time? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(2), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2012.00783.x
  24. Kacker, P., & Saurav, S. (2020). CORRELATION OF MISSING OUT (FOMO), ANXIETY AND AGGRESSION OF YOUNG ADULTS. International Journal of Research - Granthaalayah, 8(5), 132–138. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i5.2020.107
  25. La Guardia, J. G., & Patrick, H. (2008). Self-determination theory as a fundamental theory of close relationships. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 201–209. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012760
  26. Lim, M. H., Allen, K. A., Furlong, M. J., Craig, H., & Smith, D. C. (2021). Introducing a dual continuum model of belonging and loneliness. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73(1), 81–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1883411
  27. Malouf, K. (2022). Does Meeting Belongingness Needs Through Social Media Impact One’s Fear of Missing Out and Self-Esteem? Psi Beta Research Journal, 2(1), 23–28. https://doi.org/10.54581/xodo5493
  28. Modzelewski, P. (2020). FOMO (Fear of missing out) – an educational and behavioral problem in times of new communication forms. Questa Soft. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=930535
  29. Moeller, R. W., Seehuus, M., & Peisch, V. (2020). Emotional intelligence, belongingness, and mental health in college students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00093
  30. Murphy, M. C., Gopalan, M., Carter, E. R., Emerson, K. T., & Bottoms, B. L. (2020). “A customized belonging intervention improves retention of socially disadvantaged students at a broad-access university.” Teaching and Learning Lab, MIT.
  31. Neel, C. G., & Fuligni, A. J. (2012). A longitudinal study of school belonging and academic motivation across high school. Child Development, 84(2), 678–692. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01862.x
  32. O’Connell, C. (2020). How FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), the Smartphone, and Social Media May Be Affecting University Students in the Middle East. ResearchGate, 22(1), 83–102. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339721452_How_FOMO_Fear_of_Missing_Out_the_Smartphone_and_Social_Media_May_Be_Affecting_University_Students_in_the_Middle_East
  33. Paravati, E., Naidu, E., & Gabriel, S. (2020). From “love actually” to love, actually: The sociometer takes every kind of fuel. Self and Identity, 20(1), 6–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2020.1743750
  34. Peacock, S., & Cowan, J. (2019). Promoting a sense of belonging in online learning communities of inquiry. Online Learning, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i2.1488
  35. Pittman, L. D., & Richmond, A. (2007). Academic and psychological functioning in late adolescence: The importance of school belonging. The Journal of Experimental Education, 75(4), 270–290. https://doi.org/10.3200/jexe.75.4.270-292 
  36. Riordan, B. C., Flett, J. a. M., Cody, L., Conner, T. S., & Scarf, D. (2019). The Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and event-specific drinking: The relationship between FoMO and alcohol use, harm, and breath alcohol concentration during orientation week. Current Psychology, 40(8), 3691–3701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00318-6
  37. Roberts, J. A., & David, M. E. (2019). The Social Media Party: Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), Social Media Intensity, Connection, and Well-Being. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 36(4), 386–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2019.1646517
  38. Slavich, G. M. (2020). Social Safety Theory: A biologically based evolutionary perspective on life stress, health, and behavior. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 16(1), 265–295. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045159
  39. Tanhan, F., Özok, H. İ., & Tayi̇Z, V. (2022). Gelişmeleri Kaçırma Korkusu (FOMO): Güncel bir derleme. Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry, 14(1), 74–85. https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.942431
  40. Thayer, C., & Anderson, G. O. (2018). Loneliness and Social Connections: A national survey of adults 45 and older. https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00246.001
  41. Walton, G. M., Cohen, G. L., Cwir, D., & Spencer, S. J. (2012). Mere belonging: The power of social connections. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(3), 513–532. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025731.
  42. Zhang, Z., Jiménez, F. R., & Cicala, J. E. (2020). Fear Of Missing Out Scale: A self‐concept perspective. Psychology & Marketing, 37(11), 1619–1634.

Tools


Copyright © 2025  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic