ENTRY NO. 0220 EXAMINED 2026-08-23 2 CONFIGURATIONS ON FILE

FOMO

01 GENERAL ANXIETY OVER MISSING OUT ON EXPERIENCES OR OPPORTUNITIES 02 SOCIAL MEDIA BEHAVIOR
SENSE 01 noun PREVALENCE 55%

general anxiety over missing out on experiences or opportunities

The nagging suspicion that everyone else's life is more interesting than the one currently happening to you.
1

Variations

  • FOMO'd
  • fear of missing out
  • FOMO-inducing
2

Origin

Coined in academic and marketing writing in the early 2000s to describe social anxiety amplified by seeing others' activities online; writer Patrick McGinnis is often credited with popularizing the acronym around 2004, though the feeling itself predates the internet by roughly all of human history.

3

Examples

"I don't even like camping but the group chat photos gave me full FOMO."
"She left the party early and immediately regretted it out of pure FOMO."
"Turn off notifications for a weekend and watch your FOMO evaporate."
4

Cultural context

Became inseparable from social media discourse, since platforms are essentially engineered to manufacture this exact feeling on a loop; safe to use in casual conversation, therapy sessions, and marketing copy alike, though the marketing usage tends to feel a little predatory once you notice it.

SENSE 02 noun PREVALENCE 45%

social media behavior

The itch that makes you refresh Instagram Stories at 2am just to confirm you weren't invited to something.
1

Variations

  • FOMO'd out
  • fear of missing out
  • FOMO spiral
2

Origin

Coined by venture capitalist Patrick McGinnis in a 2004 Harvard Business School magazine column, originally about missing parties and job opportunities. It didn't become a full-blown diagnosis until smartphones made everyone's highlight reel available in real time.

3

Examples

"She left the group chat on read for an hour and the FOMO nearly killed her."
"He booked a flight he couldn't afford purely off FOMO from everyone's festival stories."
"My FOMO kicked in so hard I watched three hours of a party I wasn't invited to via someone else's livestream."
4

Cultural context

Used earnestly by therapists and wellness influencers and self-mockingly by everyone else who knows exactly why they're still scrolling at midnight; safe in almost any register from clinical to casual.

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