Advertisements and marketing campaigns may also attempt to reinforce FOMO through various marketing tactics.
Examples include AT&T’s “Don’t Fall Behind” campaign, Duracell’s Powermat “Stay in Control” campaign, and Heineken’s “Sunrise” campaign. AT&T’s “Don’t Fall Behind” campaign taps into the fear of missing out, making people want to join their network and receive messages and emails at fast 4G speeds to avoid missing out on friends’ updates. Duracell’s Powermat “Stay in Control” campaign showcases four dead phones and tells viewers that phone owners are missing out on phone updates because they are not using Duracell’s charging technology to power their phones.
Heineken’s “Sunrise” campaign aims to encourage responsible drinking by portraying excessive drinking as a way to miss out on the best part of partying, rather than claiming that excessive drinking can harm personal health. Other brands have also tried to tackle FOMO, such as Nestlé’s “Wake Up, Meet Life” campaign. Tapping into TV viewers’ FOMO has also been found to boost broadcast ratings. Real-time updates on status and major social events lead to a more engaging media consumption experience and faster information dissemination. Live tweets about the Super Bowl have been found to be associated with higher TV ratings due to their appeal to FOMO and the ubiquity of social media use.
FOMO (known medically as the Fear of Missing Out) is not entirely dependent on social media (although social media may be the biggest culprit of FOMO). FOMO can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
FOMO may not be new, but formal research into the conduit china phenomenon is still emerging. As more research is done on FOMO, we’re gaining a clearer understanding of what it is and how it affects us.
Unfortunately, the situation isn’t rosy. FOMO has a lot of harmful effects, and it’s actually more common than you think.
If athletes regularly see people they look up to hitting the gym four or five days a week, they may feel pressured to do so because they don’t think they can commit the time or maintain such high standards.
Someone who loves to read might be stimulated by someone else listing a long list of books they have read in a year and feel like they are not smart enough, educated enough, or able to maintain that level of understanding.