Keywords:
social media
consumer decision
Vosviewer
purchase intention
impulse buying
compulsive buying

  • Abstract

    Fear of Missing Out FoMO is usually associated with negative things related to a person s mental problems. FoMO often occurs in the digital age, when social media and technology are increasingly advanced, which makes it easy for us to know what other people are doing. The more FoMO research develops, the more influence FoMO has on several fields of science, one of which is the marketing field. Therefore, this study aims to determine what consequences FoMO has on consumer behavior especially in the social media era. This study included the keywords Fear of Missing Out and Consumer as references in the Article title, Abstract, and Keywrds derived from the Scopus database from 2004 - April 2024. Eighty-one documents were found in the data collection. Furthermore, bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer to analyze the data. The research findings show that the influence of FoMO can be viewed from self-determination theory. FoMO is a psychological state that can influence consumer behavior, which in turn affects consumer decision-making, such as purchase intention, impulse purchase, compulsive purchase, overconsumption, and wise purchase concerning sustainable consumption. FoMO can influence consumer decision-making with the help of variables such as social media usage, advertising, scarcity, luxury, materialism, and social media influencers.

  • References

    1. Abel, J. P., Buff, C. L., & Burr, S. A. (2016). Social Media and the Fear of Missing Out: Scale Development and Assessment. Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER), 14(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.19030/jber.v14i1.9554
    2. Alfina, Hartini, S., & Mardhiyah, D. (2023). FOMO related consumer behaviour in marketing context: A systematic literature review. Cogent Business and Management, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2250033
    3. Argan, M., Argan, M. T., Aydınoğlu, N. Z., & Özer, A. (2022). The delicate balance of social influences on consumption: A comprehensive model of consumer-centric fear of missing out. Personality and Individual Differences, 194(February). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111638
    4. Arundati, P. Z. (2023). How Brand Ambassador and Social Media Marketing of Luxury Brand Affect Purchase Intention of Generation Z in Jakarta. Asian Journal of Research in Business and Management, 5(3), 201–214. https://doi.org/10.55057/ajrbm.2023.5.3.18
    5. Aydin, D., Selvi, Y., Kandeger, A., & Boysan, M. (2021). The relationship of consumers’ compulsive buying behavior with biological rhythm, impulsivity, and fear of missing out. Biological Rhythm Research, 52(10), 1514–1522. https://doi.org/10.1080/09291016.2019.1654203
    6. Barry, C. T., Sidoti, C. L., Briggs, S. M., Reiter, S. R., & Lindsey, R. A. (2017). Adolescent social media use and mental health from adolescent and parent perspectives. Journal of Adolescence, 61(September), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.08.005
    7. Bekman, M. (2022). The Effect of FoMO ( Fear of Missing Out ) on Purchasing Behavior in Public Relations Practices Halkla İlişkiler Uygulamalarında FoMO ’ nun ( Gelişmeleri Kaçırma Korkusu ) Satın Alm a Davranışına Etkisi. Selçuk İletişim, 15(2), 528–557.
    8. Beyens, I., Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2016). “I don’t want to miss a thing”: Adolescents’ fear of missing out and its relationship to adolescents’ social needs, Facebook use, and Facebook related stress. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.083
    9. Bläse, R., Filser, M., Kraus, S., Puumalainen, K., & Moog, P. (2024). 2023 Bläse - Non‐sustainable buying behavior How the fear of missing out drives purchase intentions in.pdf. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(2), 626–641.
    10. Bright, L. F., & Logan, K. (2018). Is my fear of missing out (FOMO) causing fatigue? Advertising, social media fatigue, and the implications for consumers and brands. Internet Research, 28(5), 1213–1227. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-03-2017-0112
    11. Choi, S. (2016). The Influence of Scarcity Message on Customers’ Perceived Value, Satisfaction, and Repurchase Intention in the Context of Group-Buying Social Commerce. Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management, 23(1), 97–117. https://doi.org/10.21219/jitam.2016.23.1.097
    12. Conlin, L., Billings, A. C., & Averset, L. (2016). Time-shifting vs. Appointment viewing: The role of fear of missing out within TV consumption behaviors. Communication and Society, 29(4), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.29.4.151-164
    13. Croes, E., & Bartels, J. (2021). Young adults’ motivations for following social influencers and their relationship to identification and buying behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 124(June). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106910
    14. Davidai, S., & Gilovich, T. (2018). The ideal road not taken: The self-discrepancies involved in people’s most enduring regrets. Emotion, 18(3), 439.
    15. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior.
    16. Dinh, T. C. T., & Lee, Y. (2022). “I want to be as trendy as influencers” – how “fear of missing out” leads to buying intention for products endorsed by social media influencers. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 16(3), 346–364. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-04-2021-0127
    17. Dinh, T. C. T., Wang, M., & Lee, Y. (2023). How Does the Fear of Missing Out Moderate the Effect of Social Media Influencers on Their Followers ’ Purchase Intention ? SAGE Open, 13(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231197259
    18. Dursun, M. T., Argan, M., Tokay Argan, M., & Dinç, H. (2023). Sensation seeking and conspicuous consumption in event-based activities: the mediation role of fear of missing out (FoMO). International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 14(4), 488–502. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-02-2023-0020
    19. Eck, N. J. van, & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
    20. Elhajjar, S., & Yacoub, L. (2023). Towards a better understanding of the social media effects on young users. International Journal of Technology Marketing, 17(3), 296–315. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTMKT.2023.132175
    21. Good, M. C., & Hyman, M. R. (2021). Direct and indirect effects of fear-of-missing-out appeals on purchase likelihood. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 20(3), 564–576. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1885
    22. Gracella, E. A., Arifin, M., & Susanti, S. (2022). The Contribution of Fear of Missing Out to Self-Regulation Among K-Pop Fans in Makassar. Proceedings of the Interdisciplinary Conference of Psychology, Health, and Social Science (ICPHS 2021), 639(Icphs 2021), 191–198. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220203.030
    23. Hodkinson, C. (2019). ‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) marketing appeals: A conceptual model. Journal of Marketing Communications, 25(1), 65–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2016.1234504
    24. Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C., & Young, J. (2018). No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751–768. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751
    25. Hussain, S., Raza, A., Haider, A., Ishaq, M. I., & Talpur, Q. ul ain. (2023). Fear of missing out and compulsive buying behavior: The moderating role of mindfulness. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 75(August), 103512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103512
    26. John, A., Pujari, V., & Majumdar, S. (2023). Impact of social media marketing on purchasing intentions of luxury brands: the case of millennial consumers in the UAE. International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 14(3), 275–293.
    27. Kang, I., Cui, H., & Son, J. (2019). Conformity consumption behavior and FoMO. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11174734
    28. Kang, I., He, X., & Shin, M. M. (2020). Chinese Consumers’ Herd Consumption Behavior Related to Korean Luxury Cosmetics: The Mediating Role of Fear of Missing Out. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(February), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00121
    29. Kang, I., & Ma, I. (2020). A study on bandwagon consumption behavior based on fear of missing out and product characteristics. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062441
    30. Kim, D. (2022). The Effect of Social Media Marketing on Luxury Brand Purchase Intention. Journal of Digital Art Engineering & Multimedia, 9(4), 383–395. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.29056/jdaem.2022.12.05
    31. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Social networking sites and addiction: Ten lessons learned. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14030311
    32. Lee, J. A., Bright, L. F., & Eastin, M. S. (2021). Fear of Missing out and Consumer Happiness on Instagram: A Serial Mediation of Social Media Influencer-Related Activities. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24(11), 762–766. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0431
    33. Lervik-Olsen, L., Andreassen, T. W., & Fennis, B. M. (2024). When enough is not enough: behavioral and motivational paths to compulsive social media consumption. European Journal of Marketing, 58(2), 519–547. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-12-2022-0898
    34. Lestari, R. B., Sulastri, ‎, Shihab, M. S., & Andriana, I. (2024). Social Media Marketing and Its Impact on SMEs’ Business Performance. KnE Social Sciences, 2024, 503–515. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v9i14.16121
    35. Li, C., Wang, M., Li, Y., & Xu, Y. (2023). Daily loneliness and social media use: The role of fear of missing out. PsyCh Journal, 12(3), 467–469.
    36. Li, L., Griffiths, M. D., Niu, Z., & Mei, S. (2020). The trait-state fear of missing out scale: Validity, reliability, and measurement invariance in a Chinese sample of university students. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274(February), 711–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.103
    37. Long, J., Wang, P., Liu, S., & Lei, L. (2021). Materialism and adolescent problematic smartphone use: The mediating role of fear of missing out and the moderating role of narcissism. Current Psychology, 40(12), 5842–5850. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00526-0
    38. Lu, F. C., & Sinha, J. (2024). How social media usage and the fear of missing out impact minimalistic consumption. European Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-08-2022-0641
    39. Maccarrone-Eaglen, A., & Schofield, P. (2023). 2022 Maccarrone‐Eaglen - The influence of social media addiction on compulsive buying behaviour.pdf. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 22(1), 98–121.
    40. Mendelson, B. J. (2012). Social media is bullshit. St. Martin’s Press.
    41. Müller, A., Mitchell, J. E., & De Zwaan, M. (2015). Compulsive buying. American Journal on Addictions, 24(2), 132–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.12111
    42. Nekmahmud, M., Naz, F., Ramkissoon, H., & Fekete-Farkas, M. (2022). Transforming consumers’ intention to purchase green products: Role of social media. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 185(September), 122067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122067
    43. Neumann, D., Huddleston, P. T., & Behe, B. K. (2023). Fear of Missing Out as motivation to process information: How differences in Instagram use affect attitude formation online. New Media and Society, 25(1), 220–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211011834
    44. Osemeahon, O. S., & Agoyi, M. (2020). Linking FOMO and smartphone use to social media brand communities. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062166
    45. Pop, R., Săplăcan, Z., & Alt, M.-A. (2020). Social Media Goes Green—The Impact of Social Media on Green Cosmetics Purchase Motivation and Intention. Information, 11(9), 447. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/info11090447
    46. Reisenwitz, T., & Fowler, J. (2023). Personal and Social Determinants of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) in Younger Consumers. Journal of Business Strategies, 40(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.54155/jbs.40.1.21-36
    47. Rook, D. W. (1987). The buying impulse. Journal of Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(2), 189–199.
    48. Sánchez-garcía, I., & Valencia, U. E. De. (2019). Nutritional traffic light and self-regulatory consumption : the role of emotions. 121(1), 183–198. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-03-2018-0192
    49. Sergeeva, Z. N. (2023). Social Media As a New Institutional Structure for Communication. Society and Security Insights, 6(1), 56–65. https://doi.org/10.14258/ssi(2023)1-03
    50. Sinha, S. (2022). An Analytical Study of the Roles of Social Media and the Social Development in India. In Evolution of Digitized Societies Through Advanced Technologies (pp. 87–99). Springer.
    51. Streletskaya, N. A. (2023). The impact of outside option saliency and product descriptions on consumer wine tasting behavior. 18(2), 139–155. https://doi.org/10.1017/jwe.2023.12
    52. Suhardi, Y., Akhmadi, A., Darmawan, A., Tinggi, S., Ekonomi, I., & Jakarta, I. (2023). Fear of missing out, price sensitivity, and customer online impulse buying: The role of scarcity cues JMSAB 171 eISSN 2655-237X. Jmsab, 6(1), 171–184. https://doi.org/10.36407/jmsab.v6i1.662
    53. Sun, Y., & Bao, Z. (2023). Live streaming commerce: a compulsive buying perspective. Management Decision, 61(11), 3278–3294. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2022-1461
    54. Sun, Y., & Xing, J. (2022). The Impact of Social Media Information Sharing on the Green Purchase Intention among Generation Z. Sustainability, 14(11), 6879. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/ 10.3390/su14116879
    55. Udin, U. (2023). Uncover the White and Black Box of Laissez-Faire Leadership for Organizational Sustainability: A Bibliometric Analysis. Journal of Human, Earth, and Future, 4(3), 366–374. https://doi.org/10.28991/HEF-2023-04-03-08
    56. Wegmann, E., Oberst, U., Stodt, B., & Brand, M. (2017). Online-specific fear of missing out and Internet-use expectancies contribute to symptoms of Internet-communication disorder. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 5(February), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2017.04.001
    57. Weideinger, D., McClelland, A., & Furnham, A. (2021). The Effectiveness of “Fear of Missing Out” Inducing Content in Facebook Advertisements. Psychology, 12(05), 829–842. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.125051
    58. Wu, Y., Xin, L., Li, D., Yu, J., & Guo, J. (2021). How does scarcity promotion lead to impulse purchase in the online market? A field experiment. Information and Management, 58(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2020.103283
    59. Zhang, J. J., Jiang, N., Turner, J. J., & Pahlevan-Sharif, S. (2021). The impact of scarcity of medical protective products son chinese consumers’ impulsive purchasing during the covid-19 epidemic in china. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179749
    60. Zhang, J., Jiang, N., Turner, J. J., & Pahlevan-Sharif, S. (2022). The Impact of Scarcity on Consumers’ Impulse Buying Based on the S-O-R Theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(June), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.792419
    61. Zhang, Z., Jiménez, F. R., & Cicala, J. E. (2020). Fear Of Missing Out Scale A self‐concept perspective. Psychology & Marketing, 37(11), 1–16. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21406
    62. Zhu, X., Yang, C., Ding, L., Zhang, X., Qiao, G., Gao, X., & Yang, F. (2022). Social media usage of chinese nursing students: Attitudes, motivations, mental health problems, and self-disclosure. PLoS ONE, 17(12 October), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277674
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2025 The Authors

How to cite

Erlinda, V., & Fatmawati, I. (2024). Bibliometric analysis of publication trends in the Scopus database on the theme fear of missing out to consumers behavior. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 8(3), 2025070. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2025070
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
  • Article viewed - 1063
  • PDF downloaded - 727