Fear of missing Out Scale (FoMOs)

A 10-item measure of the Fear of Missing Out

What does the Fear of Missing Out scale measure?

The scale measures the fear of missing out (FOMO) — i.e. the angst that others are having fun without you.

Who developed FoMOs?

Andrew K. Przybylski, Kou Murayama, Cody R. DeHaan, and Valerie Gladwell first published the measure in 2013 in the academically peer-reviewed journal Computers in Human Behavior.

Why was it made?

It was the first experimentally validated measure of FOMO.

How does FoMOs measure the fear of missing out?

FoMOs is a 10 item measure. It uses a likert scale for all items — people indicate how true each of the statements is of their everyday experience based on the 5 choices below:

• Not at all true of me
• Slightly true of me
• Moderately true of me
• Very true of me
• Extremely true of me

What are the 10 scale items?

1. I fear others have more rewarding experiences than me.
2. I fear my friends have more rewarding experiences than me. 
3. I get worried when I find out my friends are having fun without me. 
4. I get anxious when I don’t know what my friends are up…