Fear of Missing Out and Collegiate Alcohol Use: An Examination of Relationship and Direction

Collegiate alcohol abuse is an ongoing problem in the United States (Core Institute, 2014). While there have been numerous investigations into this concern, the precise nature of what motivates alcohol misuse in this population still contains areas of uncertainty. One such area could be the newly identified phenomenon known as Fear of Missing Out (FoMO). Research into FoMO demonstrates it as a motivator for individuals to seek socially rewarding experiences (Przybylski et al., 2013); this characteristic indicates it as a potential risk factor for collegiate alcohol abuse. When considering alcohol’s ubiquitous nature as a social facilitator in college campuses, these trait characteristics raise the concern that college students high in FoMO would be at an elevated risk for alcohol abuse. Therefore, the present study sought to examine the relationship between FoMO and collegiate alcohol use. Specifically, this investigation sought to determine if FoMO predicted how likely an individual was to drink, as well as their levels of alcohol craving. Additionally, this experiment sought to replicate initial demographic characteristics of FoMO, as well as assessing its relationship to individual psychological need satisfaction. Results of the present study did not identify a link between FoMO and self-reported drinking likelihood, but did identify FoMO as a predictor of alcohol craving. Interestingly, additional analyses failed to replicate Przybylski et al.’s (2013) finding that males report higher levels of FoMO than females and also failed to link FoMO to overall psychological need satisfaction. These findings represent several areas for continued investigation. FEAR OF MISSING OUT AND COLLEGE ALCOHOL USE 3 Fear of Missing Out and Collegiate Alcohol Misuse: An Examination of Relationship and Direction In a recent national survey of collegiate drinking, almost 69% of students reported consuming alcohol within the past month (Core Institute, 2014). Forty-four percent of that same survey population also reported an instance of binge drinking within the previous two weeks (Core Institute, 2014). This report reflects the common and robustly found phenomenon of alcohol use and misuse in collegiate life. College students are notoriously stereotyped for excessive drinking, and while the general prevalence of routine drinking may vary, studies have cited monthly consumption rates as high as 91% for men and 80% for women (Perera, Torabi, & Kay, 2011). Regardless of the precise rates, what is certain is that this population uses alcohol to a heavier and more frequent degree than their non-college peers (Blanco et al., 2008; Carter, Brandon, & Goldman, 2010; Slutske, 2005). This data coincides with the high rates of alcohol related problems experienced by a significant portion of university students. The previously mentioned national report identified that nearly a third (32.2%) of collegiate individuals reported experiencing some form of public misconduct (e.g., fighting, vandalism, DWI/DUI) as a result of alcohol consumption within the past year. During this same time period, more than one-fifth of students (21.8%) also reported experiencing some type of serious personal problem (e.g., thoughts of suicide, injury, sexual-assault; Core Institute, 2014). The negative consequences produced by college alcohol misuse have prompted researchers to examine this issue in depth, exploring the influential facets that drive individuals to initiate and maintain drinking for this FEAR OF MISSING OUT AND COLLEGE ALCOHOL USE 4 population. However, an area that remains unexamined in this regard is the phenomenon known as Fear of Missing Out. “Fear of Missing Out”, or “FoMO”, is defined as a “pervasive apprehension that others are having rewarding experiences from which one is absent” (Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan, & Gladwell, 2013, p. 1841). Previous surveys of the US and the UK illustrate that almost 75% of young adults reported experiencing FoMO (JWT, 2011). JWT Intelligence (2011) further posits that FoMO is a previously existing phenomenon, with a recent surge in its prevalence due to the heightened social awareness provided by modern social networking technologies. More specifically, JWT (2012) speculates that such technology yields to intrapersonal drives, which subsequently lead to FoMO. These drives are described as the result of socio-generational characteristics most prevalent in modern teens and young adults. Some of the more notable drivers included social transparency, or an intimate knowledge of others’ lives, social “one-upmanship”, the conscious or unconscious desire to demonstrate one is better than others in some way (e.g., funnier, smarter), and relative deprivation, the “dissatisfaction people feel when they compare their positions to others and grasp that they have less” (JWT, 2011, p. 4). Thus, the increased social awareness afforded by modern social media heightens the salience of such drives and is therefore purported to increase risk for FoMO. According to the original empirical investigation delineating this construct, individuals experiencing FoMO desire continual connection with others (Przybylski et al., 2013). As a result, it may be assumed that any means of aiding in the achievement of this goal are particularly alluring to these individuals. The initial research on this subject supports this notion. Przybylski et al. (2013) sought to empirically examine FoMO’s FEAR OF MISSING OUT AND COLLEGE ALCOHOL USE 5 common aspects, its connection to psychological need satisfaction, and its relation with social media use. Through the use of self-report assessments, these authors noted the characteristics of FoMO, as well as construction and application of the first scale assessing this construct. The results of their exploration yielded a nationally representative sample, which provided deeper insight into the topography of FoMO. Younger individuals, particularly males, demonstrated the highest levels of FoMO. High levels of the construct were negatively related to psychological need satisfaction, general mood, and overall life satisfaction, but positively related to social media engagement (Przybylski et al., 2013). Though ultimately a unique construct, FoMO bears similarities to certain existing phenomenon, such as anxiety. A crucial component of anxiety according to the DSM-5 is the existence of an excessive sense of fear or anxiety, which often occurs in regard to certain situations or instances (APA, 2013b). For individuals with FoMO, such exaggerated concerns are specific to instances that indicate an absence from desired experiences to the individual. In this sense the construct appears an inverse of social anxiety, in that those experiencing FoMO are motivated by their anxieties to maintain and further continual social connection. Additionally, Pryzbylski et al. (2013) note the importance of psychological need satisfaction, specifically, autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000), as a driving force behind FoMO. This is a crucial component of this construct to note, as psychological need thwarting has been linked to general deficiencies in psychological well-being. For example, Kipp and Weiss (2015) found that psychological need satisfaction predicted higher self-esteem and lower disordered eating in female gymnasts. FEAR OF MISSING OUT AND COLLEGE ALCOHOL USE 6 Further, Saeki and Quirk (2015) identified that more engaged students demonstrated lower social-emotional and behavioral risk. What is notable about this finding is that engagement in this study represented a function of need satisfaction, with higher levels of satisfaction predicting higher levels of engagement and lower levels of social-emotional/behavioral problems. Lastly, the relationship between psychological need satisfaction and well-being appears relatively consistent across certain cultures. Chen et al. (2015) conducted a study examining basic need satisfaction across four different countries (Belgium, China, USA, and Peru), finding that this construct was positively related to optimal functioning, regardless of cultural background. Ultimately, the FoMO phenomenon manifests as difficulties in intrapersonal regulation deriving from either dispositional or environmentally produced deficits in psychological need satisfaction. This is then characterized by persistent anxiety over one’s absence from pleasurable experiences with others. This has been linked to poorer intrapersonal functioning as evidenced by decreased life satisfaction, increased negative affect, and negative perceptions of psychological need satisfaction (Pryzbylski et al., 2013). While the FoMO phenomenon has currently only been explored in regard to social media use, it represents an opportunity to explore collegiate alcohol use from a unique angle. Consider again, social anxiety. This construct is similar in that it produces an uncomfortable state, which individuals are then motivated to reduce. However, unlike FoMO, the stereotypical behavior exhibited by those with social anxiety is to avoid social situations. Further, such individuals in collegiate populations typically drink less than their peers, while simultaneously experiencing higher rates of alcohol-related problems FEAR OF MISSING OUT AND COLLEGE ALCOHOL USE 7 (Schry & White, 2013). Contemporary investigators have posited that social anxiety reduces individual exposure to collegiate events in which alcohol would be present, decreasing consumption rates (Morris, Stewart, & Ham, 2005). Simultaneously however, these same individuals demonstrate intensified alcohol expectancies regarding “convivial” atmospheres (Ham, Lham, Zamboanga, & Bacon, 2011) and “self-medicating tendencies” (Strahan, Panayiotou, Clements, & Scott, 2011). Vilarosa, Madson, ZeiglerHill, Noble, and Mohn (2014) found that consuming alcohol for such forms of positive enhancement was related to increased problematic drinking patterns. Given the