FOMO and the way we react: Exploring stress, anxiety, and resilience in Sri Lanka

The Fear of Missing Out, popularly referred to as FOMO, is a pervasive anxiety-evoking psychological construct that stems from the belief that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent. Although considered a relatively novel phenomenon, FOMO is widespread in today’s modern society. The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between FOMO, stress, and anxiety in Sri Lanka and provide novel insights regarding this occurrence. In addition, the present study also aims to investigate the mediating effect of resilience on FOMO, stress, and anxiety. The research utilized a quantitative research design and an online survey to gather data from the research participants. The Fear of Missing Out Scale (FOMO), the Perceived stress scale (PSS), the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were employed to assess FOMO, anxiety, stress, and resilience among eighty-three individuals of Sri Lankan nationality between ages 18 to 49. The findings manifested a non-significant relationship between FOMO, stress, anxiety, and resilience. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that experiencing high FOMO was associated with more anxiety and stress symptomology. Besides, the findings manifested that resilience does not reduce the effects of anxiety-induced FOMO, resilience does not mediate the pathway between stress and FOMO, resilience mediates the pathway between FOMO and anxiety, resilience mediates the pathway between FOMO and stress, and there is no statistically significant difference in FOMO levels between male and female participants. The findings will create better awareness of FOMO, contribute to the growing body of FOMO-related research within psychological studies and offer practical, useful recommendations.