— They’re more related than you think
BY Mia Erickson
Are you ever plagued by a nagging sense of anxiety watching your friends have fun without you? A new study claims to explain the science behind why we experience the phenomenon known as FOMO.
Most people are more than familiar with the all-consuming feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out), constantly comparing their surroundings, choices and plans with alternative scenarios.
But feeling like the grass is always greener elsewhere goes beyond missing your friends on a night in. FOMO is also rife in the current dating climate, with the never-ending stream of swiping, liking and matching fuelling the idea that something– or someone– better is out there.
But the connection between physical intimacy and experiencing FOMO goes deeper than we may think, according to a new study by Nipissing University in Canada, with findings suggesting the former may indeed be the cause of the latter.
Understanding the study
The phenomenon known as FOMO is hardly new, with many finding the nagging feeling follows them constantly– regardless of their surroundings. More often than not, people experience FOMO watching their friends enjoying an experience without them, which in today’s era of smartphones and social media, can be a never-ending ordeal.
The latest research into what causes our FOMO draws on the understanding that humans are naturally quite a social species.
But, knowing that like most mammals, we are generally guided by an instinct to connect and seek out a partner, the study set out to prove there’s more driving our FOMO than just innate competitiveness.
Determined to understand the relationship between FOMO and romantic relationships, 327 consenting adults between the ages of 19 and 60 were surveyed by the research team at Nipissing University.
Using a 10-item scale, participants were asked to respond to a series of statements measuring their inclination to experiencing FOMO, such as, ‘I fear others have more rewarding experiences than me’ and, ‘It bothers me when I miss an opportunity to meet up with friends.’
Based on their answers, researchers then rated each participant on things like their short-term mating effort, degree of social support, status-seeking, and competition among genders.
Each participant was also asked to divulge the number of sexual partners outside of a committed relationship they’d had. This, as well as their responses for the other sections, were combined and converted into a score by the research team.
What the results reveal
Comparing the results, the team found a correlation between the participants who experienced FOMO often and their attitudes towards seeking out sexual opportunities and romantic relationships.
What does this mean? The ingrained sense of ‘what if’ many modern daters experience while swiping for ‘the one’ inevitably impacts their desire to actively seek out social opportunities. In other words, their nagging FOMO.
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“FOMO might alert people to the threat of not participating in these important social activities, which could motivate them to seek out and compete for social and sexual opportunities,” says professor of social sciences at Canadore College and study author Adam Davis.
According to the study’s findings, the participants who stated having high levels of FOMO were inevitably the ones who recorded having a high number of sexual partners and frequently sought new partners.
“Among American adults, we found that higher levels of FOMO were associated with a greater desire to seek out short-term sex partners,” adds Davis, who found other factors, such as each participant’s social support were not as influential.
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