MODULE 5 - Fear

of Missing Out
Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the session, the learners should be able to: 

1.discuss FOMO in the context of technology; 
2.identify the connection among FOMO, Regret, Stress, and Anxiety; and 
3.develop a personal action plan in addressing the problem of fear of
missing out. 
 Millennials
and
Generation Z
Millennials
• Born between 1981 – 1996

• Also known as “Generation Y”,

“Nexters”, and “Net Generation”

• Born and raised in an era of advanced

technology – TechSavvy

• They spend more in the marketplace

compare to other generation (Bucic et.
al, 2012).

• Accept diversity and engaged in different

communities to participate (Williams,
Crittenden, Keo, & McCarty, 2012)

• Social media is a tool for Millennials

Generation Z
• 1997 – Present

• Also known as – iGeneration, Gen Tech, Online

Generation, Post Millennials, Facebook Generation,
Switchers, C Generation (C – Connected,
Computerized, Communicating, Content-Centric,
Community Oriented, and Changing), R Generation
(Responsibility) (Dolot, 2018)

• Can function in real and digital world (Dolot, 2018)

• Most educated generation (Hysa, 2016)

• “Grew up in a time of economic, political and social

change” (Fong, Lope, & Lucchi, 2019 p. 8)

• “Short Attention Span” (Fong, Lope, & Lucchi,

2019 p. 12)

• TechSavvy
Regret
“When people are asked about their
regrets in life, for the most part they
regret the actions not taken rather than
the actions taken” (Hattrangadi, Medvec,
& Gilovich, 1995 cited in Bandura, 1999
p. 32)

Guide Question: What are your thoughts

about this statement?
Regret

• Anticipated regret (Hodkinson, 2016) – when a person experience a regret that may happen in the
future. Regretting about something that has not happened yet.

• Post-decisional regret - Making a choice but resulted that there was a better choice than the one
chosen (Zeelenberg, 1999)

• Regret has something to do with how a person decide and behave (Saffran, Hope,& Koestner n.d.)

• “People who reported higher FOMO also reported that they would experience more regret about
their choice the following day” (Saffran, Hope,& Koestner n.d. p. 21)

• “uncertainty about future events brings about anxiety and anticipated regret” (Arzeno, 2018)
Stress and
Anxiety
Stress

- “Stress is a normal response

triggered by everyday life events”
(James Cook University, n.d).

Anxiety

- “Anxiety results from situations that

cause nervousness, fear, or worry,
especially about the future.” (Viveros
& Schramm, 2018)
1. FOMO - "a pervasive apprehension
that others might be having
rewarding experiences from which
one is absent“ (Przybylski, et al,
2013 cited in Arzeno, 2018, p. 5)
2. FOMO is an idea that other people
are having a good time without
your presence.
3. In realizing that there are other
options, FOMO begins (Herman,
2010)
4. Comparing one’s ability with other
people in the group. Feeling less
compare to others.

5. This follows regret (Anticipated

and Post decisional regret).
• “Fear of missing out keeps us from connecting with people”

• “Fear of missing out impedes us from achieving our goals”

• “Fear of missing out keeps us from connecting and accomplishing”

• “Will I be remembered?”

• “Will anything I accomplish be important to anyone?”

• “Am I loved?”

• “Does my family love me?”

• “Do my friends love me?”

• “Am I worth loving?”

-Bobby Mook
 Guide Questions: 

Why do you check your notifications in your Social Media?

Do you feel a sense of belongingness when you open your Social media?

What is difference between having a sense of belongingness in real world and virtual world?

Do people with collectivist behavior more prone in having FOMO?

Synthesis

What is the relevance of knowing the idea of

FOMO?  
“Am I significant?” 
Suggested Readings