Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and Adolescent Self-Esteem in the Digital Age: A Systematic Literature Review
Keywords:
Fear of Missing Out, Self-Esteem, Adolescents, Social Media, Systematic Literature ReviewAbstract
The digital era has brought significant changes in the lives of teenagers, one of which is the emergence of the phenomenon of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) which is increasingly closely related to self-esteem. This study is a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) that aims to analyze the relationship between FoMO and adolescent self-esteem in the digital age, identify the psychological factors that play a role, and formulate practical implications for psychological and educational interventions. The method used is SLR with the PRISMA approach, involving eight national journal articles published between 2021 and 2026 and obtained from Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar. The results of the review suggest that the relationship between FoMO and self-esteem is complex: most studies found a negative association that high self-esteem suppresses FoMO, while some studies found a positive association mediated by certain social motivations. Supporting factors such as life satisfaction, social connectedness, self-compassion, and self-control also play a role in the dynamics of both. Psychoeducational interventions have been shown to be effective in significantly increasing adolescent awareness. This study emphasizes that strengthening self-esteem through school-based programs is a strategic step in reducing FoMO and maintaining adolescent mental health in the digital era.
Downloads
References
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, 14(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.19030/jber.v14i1.9554
Alt, D. (2020). Students' wellbeing, fear of missing out, and social media engagement for leisure in higher education learning environments. Current Psychology, 39(2), 661–671.
Blackwell, D., Leaman, C., Tramposch, R., Osborne, C., & Liss, M. (2019). Extraversion, neuroticism, attachment style and fear of missing out as predictors of social media use and addiction. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 69–72.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The 'what' and 'why' of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.
Einstein, D. A., Dabb, C., & Fraser, M. (2023). FoMO, but not self-compassion, moderates the link between social media use and anxiety in adolescence. Australian Journal of Psychology, 75(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2217961
Elhai, J. D., Yang, H., Fang, J., Bai, X., & Hall, B. J. (2020). Depression and anxiety symptoms are related to problematic smartphone use severity in Chinese young adults: Fear of missing out as a mediator. Addictive Behaviors, 101, 105962.
Farida, H., Warni, W. E., & Arya, L. (2021). Self-esteem and life satisfaction with Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) in adolescents. Journal of Poseidon Psychology, 4(1), 60–76. https://doi.org/10.30649/jpp.v4i1.56
Fitrialis, R., Elsani, D., Rahmadani, T., Vania, N. R., Nabila, N. P., & Fitriana, N. (2024). The negative impact of social media on adolescents. Indonesian Journal of Accounting, Business and Economics, 3(2), 30–34.
Gumilar, A. P., & Akbar, R. F. (2026). The effect of self-esteem level and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) on psychological well-being conditions in SMK X Bandung students. ACADEMIC: Journal of Humanist Students, 6(1), 545–557.
Hutasuhut, D. H., Yarshal, D., & Harahap, J. Y. (2025). Anti-FOMO psychoeducation: Building adolescent mental health in the digital age. Journal of Community Service of the Nation, 3(4), 1401–1404.
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020). A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79–93.
Kitchenham, B. (2004). Procedures for performing systematic reviews. Keele University Technical Report TR/SE-0401.
Maulana, A., Febrieta, D., & Muzzamil, F. (2025). Social connectedness in FoMO in adolescents who follow trends. Liberosis: Journal of Counseling Psychology and Guidance, 14(2).
Moksnes, U. K., & Reidunsdatter, R. J. (2019). Self-esteem and mental health in adolescents: Level and stability during adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 70, 136–145.
Orth, U., & Robins, R. W. (2022). Is high self-esteem beneficial? Revisiting a classic question. American Psychologist, 77(1), 5–17.
Priyono, S. P. A., Wulandari, D. A., Setyawati, Rr., & Wahidah, F. R. N. (2025). The impact of self control and self esteem on Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) on students using Instagram social media at Jenderal Soedirman University. Multidisciplinary Scientific Journal, 2(4), 131–146.
Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of Fear of Missing Out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841–1848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press.
Rozgonjuk, D., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020). Fear of missing out (FoMO) and social media use: Associations with mental health and well-being. Current Psychology, 39(3), 1–9.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101860.
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2019). Interpersonal flourishing: A positive health agenda for the new millennium. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 23(1), 1–25.
Sarwili, I., Solehudin, & Lestari, M. D. (2025). Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and self-compassion: How much it has to do with the self-esteem of junior high school students. Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Business (RIGGS), 4(3), 7768–7775.
Twenge, J. M., Haidt, J., Joiner, T. E., & Campbell, W. K. (2020). Underestimating digital media harm. Nature Human Behavior, 4(4), 346–348.
Walangitan, Z. T. Q., & Dewi, F. I. R. (2023). Self-esteem and life satisfaction as predictors of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO). Journal of Muara Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts, 8(1), 120–127. https://doi.org/10.24912/jmishumsen.v8i1.27186
We Are Social, & Meltwater. (2024). Digital 2024: Indonesia. DataReportal.
Wegmann, E., Oberst, U., Stodt, B., & Brand, M. (2021). Online-specific fear of missing out and internet-use expectancies contribute to symptoms of internet-communication disorder. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 13, 100317.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nurdiana Hi. Barakati (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
