An Investigation into the Interplay between Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), Social Comparison, and Depression among Young Adults: An Empirical Perspective.

Abstract

The proliferation of social networking sites has fundamentally altered the psychological landscape for young adults, creating conditions that amplify Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), social comparison, and depressive symptoms. The present study investigated the interplay between these three constructs among social media users. A quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational design was employed with a convenience sample of 123 participants from Jammu district. FoMO was assessed using the FoMO Scale (Przybylski et al., 2013), social comparison using the IowaNetherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM; Gibbons &Buunk, 1999), and depression using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck et al., 1996). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and independent samples t-tests via SPSS. Results revealed that participants reported moderate levels of FoMO and social comparison, and moderately severe levels of depression. A significant positive correlation was found between FoMO and social comparison (r = .29, p < .01), indicating that higher FoMO is associated with greater tendencies to compare oneself with others. The anticipated associations between FoMO and depression and between social comparison and depression were not statistically significant in this sample. No significant gender differences were found for any of the three variables, indicating that FoMO, social comparison, and depression are experienced comparably across male and female young adult social media users in this sample. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature on digital psychology, with implications for psychological screening, mental health education, and intervention design targeting young adult social media users. Limitations and directions for future research are outlined.