Take a short quiz and find out what situations bring on the strongest FOMO feelings. 

Sample quiz questions: 

Here's the quiz. Enter your email in the quiz and your results will be sent to you. 

Questions: 

• Which of the statements had the highest scores where you may have scored them a 4 or 5? 
• Why do you think these situations elicit the strongest FOMO feelings? 
• How do you think your students' results for this quiz might be different in terms of where they have strongest FOMO feelings? 
• Any strategies that work for you to help reduce FOMO? 

Here's some interesting survey results regarding the prevalence of FOMO:

According to a recent survey by JWTIntelligence (2012), roughly 40% of individuals from 12-67 say that social media has increased their fear of missing out. Only 8% of this survey’s respondents had heard of FOMO. Once FOMO was explained in the study, 70% of adult millennials (18-34 year olds) said they could completely or somewhat relate to the concept. FOMO has the potential to drive spending, since it heightens participation on social media platforms and motivates consumers to do more (JWTIntelligence, 2012). The JWTIntelligence (2012) study exposed how prevalent the understanding and feelings of FOMO are as measured by a single question.

Of note are the results related to adult millennials, ages 18-34. Seventy percent of adult millennials admitted that they could relate to the idea of FOMO (the highest percentage out of any generation). Similarly, 36% of adult millennials acknowledged that they experience FOMO often or sometimes. Most notably, 46% of adult millennials noted that any fear of missing out they do have has been amplified by their social media use (JWTIntelligence, 2012). Nearly 8 in 10 people believe that people use social media to brag about who they are and what they do
(Laird, 2012).

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How does FOMO affect your financial life? Check out this FinCap Friday, Financial FOMO, and find out. 

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This activity appears in our Behavioral Economics Certification Course. This course will be offered next in mid-July and you can register here. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.