FOMO en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈfəʊməʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈfoʊmoʊ/ (General-American)
Etymology
Coined c. 2004 in the US by Patrick James McGinnis, in the same article as FOBO.
Meanings
-
(abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable) Acronym of fear of missing out.
alt of fear of missing out
In this state of social flux, FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out, weighs heavily on the psyche. ... Notice that as a person becomes more and more FOMO, the energy needed to maintain such an active social life is tremendous.
2004 May 10, “Social Theory at HBS: McGinnis' Two FOs”, in The Harbus, archived from the original on 25 Jun 2018:In a Huffington Post write-up last spring, a Georgetown University student confirmed FOMO "is a widespread problem on college campuses … Even when we'd rather catch up on sleep or melt our brain with some reality television, we feel compelled to seek bigger and better things from our weekend. We fear that if we don't partake in every Saturday night's fever, something truly amazing will happen, leaving us hopelessly behind."
2013, Daniel Reimold, Journalism of Ideas: Brainstorming, Developing, and Selling Stories in the Digital Age, Routledge, published 2013, →ISBN:On those occasions, she said, her knee-jerk reaction is often to post an account of a cool thing she has done, or to upload a particularly fun picture from her weekend. This may make her feel better — but it can generate FOMO in another unsuspecting person.
2011 April 9, Jenna Worthham, “Feel Like a Wallflower? Maybe It’s Your Facebook Wall”, in The New York Times:Often, because of FOMO, they are reluctant to do these things on their own, but if you can get their friends involved as well, the resistance disappears.
2010, Charlie Taylor, Divas & Door Slammers: The Secret to Having a Better Behaved Teenager, Vermillion, published 2010, →ISBN, page 197:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FoMO | alternative | lexicographic |