Science 2 min read

How to Measure Your FOMO levels

FOMO is now an ever-present issue. Now, a team of researchers has created a way to measure it. | Image By Supawadee56 | Shutterstock

FOMO is now an ever-present issue. Now, a team of researchers has created a way to measure it. | Image By Supawadee56 | Shutterstock

How bad is your FOMO? A science-based quiz can help you gauge your fear of missing out level.

Because we want to make the most of our short life, we try to accumulate as many “things” as possible. Often, that can lead to us imposing extra pressure on ourselves.

There is no absolute void. There is no such thing as “wasting” time. But, we pass most of our time trying to fill the “emptiness” we feel around us, and within us.

The fear of missing out keeps us relentlessly busy and constantly searching to fill a little gap in our life.

FOMO stands for the “fear of missing out”. It’s one of the many terms that entered the dictionary to highlight our digital addiction.

Have you ever experienced Fear of missing out moments? Do you fear being left out?

This piece is not about helping you overcome it, but about assessing your FOMO level.

FOMO Scale: Are you a “FOMOus” person?

Authors of the study Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out define the complex as “a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent, FoMO is characterized by the desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing.”

If you often feel your FOMO gauge needle rising, you’re not alone. Often, you can blame social media for it.

The phenomenon is nothing new. However, heavy usage of social media deeply exacerbates it.

Social media has made notions like calmness, relaxation, and loneliness more associated with emptiness for some people.

Researchers stressed out the dual nature of social media that, on the upside, “provides a multitude of opportunities for interaction; on the downside, they often broadcast more options than can be pursued, given practical restrictions and limited time.”

The team of psychologists from the University of Essex (UK), the University of California (Los Angeles), and the University of Rochester (NY) didn’t only highlight the FOMO-boosting nature of social media, they went on to develop a scale to measure it.

According to your answers, the Fear of Missing Out scale scores you between zero and 40, with four categories to separate these FOMO levels.

You can complete the quiz here and get your FOMO level.

Do you think this Fear of Missing Out is a modern phenomenon?

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Zayan Guedim

Trilingual poet, investigative journalist, and novelist. Zed loves tackling the big existential questions and all-things quantum.

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    ATALB MANUFACTURING COMPANY June 27 at 12:03 pm GMT

    so well</a

  2. Uolevi Kattun November 20 at 9:16 am GMT

    How often have people experienced fear of missing out moments and especially opportunities while buying promising new things online? Instead of investing to new companies separately why can’t they buy micro-shares simultaneously with the product?

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