FOMO Statistics

Isn’t it surprising to know that fear is one of the greatest motivators for humans? Indeed, fear has been hardwired into our DNA. People are not willing to miss out on a good deal or a business opportunity or a social event. This urges them to act quicker. And this is collectively what we call FOMO or Fear of Missing Out. FOMO has become a fairly common phenomenon, particularly in this digital age.

If you are not sure about what FOMO is or how you can use it to benefit your business, then don’t worry as in this article we will be exploring some of the most recent Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) statistics. Without any further ado, let us dive into this article.

On this page, you’ll find:


Key Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Statistics

Here is a list of the top 10 statistics from this article:


  • People with household incomes above $75,000 a year were most likely to experience FOMO. (Strategy)
  • 39% of people who suffered from FOMO felt envious, 30% felt jealous, and 21% felt sad or disappointed. (IJANM)
  • FOMO is experienced by 69% of millennials. (Eventbrite)
  • Travel (59%), parties and events (56%), and food (29%) are the biggest things that create FOMO among millennials. (Strategy)
  • If offered a 30% discount, 66% of millennials would switch brands. (Forbes)
  • If treated well through a customer-centric experience, 60% of millennials would stay loyal to brands they currently purchase from. (Forbes)
  • FOMO is experienced by 56% of social media users. (Mashable)
  • The most common contributors of FOMO include Facebook (72%), Instagram (14%), Twitter (11%), and Pinterest (8%). (WPForms)
  • About 30% of millennials feel lonely always or very often. (Psychology Today)
  • When compared to the general population, people who work irregular hours and do night shifts are 33% more likely to develop a mental illness. (Business Insider)

General Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Statistics

          Whenever a person feels that they are missing out on something, they have a feeling of anxiety and that is what we call Fear of Missing Out or FOMO. These feelings are generally caused when seeing posts on social media. They are also triggered during online shopping experiences. To help you understand better, let us first look into some general Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) statistics.


  • People with household incomes above $75,000 a year were most likely to experience FOMO. (Strategy)
  • 39% of people who suffered from FOMO felt envious, 30% felt jealous, and 21% felt sad or disappointed. (IJANM)
  • 71% of people agree they feel more connected to other people when attending an event. (Skift)
  • Personalized e-mails have improved the email open rates for 95% of marketers. (Socialnomics)

FOMO Statistics about Millennial Behavior

          Recent studies reveal that there is one particular generation that experiences FOMO the most. It is also believed that they are the most likely reason to create FOMO in others as well. Guessed which generation it is? Yes, it is the millennials. Apparently, millennials spend a lot of money online. Hence, it is important for businesses to understand millennial behavior. In this section, we shall look into some FOMO statistics about millennial behavior.


  • FOMO is experienced by 69% of millennials. (Eventbrite)
  • Travel (59%), parties and events (56%), and food (29%) are the biggest things that create FOMO among millennials. (Strategy)
  • Among their peers, millennials purposefully try to create FOMO. (Strategy)
  • After experiencing FOMO, 60% of millennial consumers said they make a reactive purchase. (Skulocal)
  • To keep up with their friends, 40% of millennials overspend or go into debt. (CNBC)
  • A credit card is not owned by more than 65% of millennials. (Forbes)
  • For reasons beyond basic necessity, 69% of millennials buy clothes. (Forbes)
  • Millennials are 30% more likely to trust UGC (User-Generated Content) when compared to baby boomers. (Annex Cloud)

FOMO Marketing Statistics

          One main thing that people hate while shopping is missing out on a good deal. That is why many marketers make use of scarcity and urgency to create FOMO among people. Shoppers will surely act before it becomes too late when they get to know that a deal isn’t going to last long or there are only a few items left. Let us now look into some statistics that throw light on the importance of FOMO marketing.


  1. If offered a 30% discount, 66% of millennials would switch brands. (Forbes)
  2. If treated well through a customer-centric experience, 60% of millennials would stay loyal to brands they currently purchase from. (Forbes)
  3. Instead of just making a profit, 75% of millennials consider it fairly or very important that brands give back to society. (Forbes)
  4. When deciding which brands to like and support, 90% of consumers say authenticity is important. (Stackla)
  5. A compelling advertisement would make only 1% of millennials trust a brand more. (Crowdtap)
  6. More than any kind of advertising, 92% of consumers trust word of mouth. (Buyapowa)

FOMO Social Media Statistics

          FOMO initially started as a social media thing. FOMO can also be created by online reviews. When a consumer notices that others are having a great time with the products or services they purchased, they will want to make that same purchase for themselves. This is another way by which businesses use FOMO to generate more sales. Now, let us look into some FOMO social media statistics.


  1. FOMO is experienced by 56% of social media users. (Mashable)
  2. The most common contributors of FOMO include Facebook (72%), Instagram (14%), Twitter (11%), and Pinterest (8%). (WPForms)
  3. When people are away from social networks, 56% of them are afraid of missing out on events, news, and important status updates. (PR Newswire)
  4. Right after they wake up, about 27% of people head to social media. (Mashable)
  5. Brand preferences are demonstrated by 50% of millennials through hashtags. (Annex Cloud)
  6. Compared to reading about things online, 74% of millennials surveyed said attending a live event expands their perspective more. (Skift)
  7. Compared to standard brand posts, a 28% higher engagement rate is observed in UGC posts shared to social channels. (Comscore)
  8. When customer reviews are placed on a product page, it increases page views by 10% in just 2 days. (People Claim)

Loneliness Statistics

          Loneliness and social isolation are considered serious public health risks as they affect a significant number of people and put them at risk for dementia or other serious medical conditions. One can feel lonely regardless of the amount of social contact one has. Lack of social connections leads to social isolation which in turn leads to loneliness. Some people feel lonely even when they are not socially isolated. For the last section of this article, we can look into some statistics on loneliness.


  • About 30% of millennials feel lonely always or very often. (Psychology Today)
  • When compared to the general population, people who work irregular hours and do night shifts are 33% more likely to develop a mental illness. (Business Insider)
  • 22% of people in the U.S. and 23% of people in the U.K say they always or often feel lonely. (Forbes)
  • A 47% increase in major depression diagnoses has been noted in Millennials since 2013. (Business Insider)

Frequently Asked Questions

FOMO has become a bigger concern for younger people these days more than before. FOMO is experienced by 56% of social media users and 69% of millennials.

FOMO is experienced by about 56% of social media users. They are afraid of missing out on something important if they stay away from social media platforms.

People often experience FOMO when they see other social media users’ highlight reels. They have a feeling of anxiety when they come to know that others are having rewarding experiences without them. Browsing social media sets up a person to experience FOMO even though social media isn’t the only reason causing FOMO.

For decades, loneliness has been a growing problem. About 61% of adults feel lonely in the U.S and about 30%of millennials feel lonely always or very often.

Recent studies have suggested that during their 20’s, Americans are most lonely and during their 60’s, Americans are least lonely.

Conclusion

And that is a wrap now! We are now at the end of this article and you would have clearly understood what exactly FOMO is. The power of FOMO is remarkably huge and that is why marketers cleverly use FOMO for enhancing their performances. One must focus on ads and sales copy that uses urgency, scarcity, etc. to drive more engagement when targeting their audiences. Social media platforms need to keep customers in the loop. With the latest FOMO statistics listed in this article, one can master the art of FOMO marketing and ensure that their leads and customers won’t miss out on anything that they are offering.

Strategy     IJANM     Skift     Socialnomics     Eventbrite     Skulocal     CNBC     Forbes     Annex Cloud     Stackla     Crowdtap     Buyapowa     Mashable     WPForms     PR Newswire     Comscore     People Claim     Psychology Today     Business Insider     Forbes    

Author: Shubham Calmblay

Shubham Calmblay, founder of appsthatdeliver.com, has a decade of experience with various Google products. He has authored 1,000+ guides for ATD, published on prestigious tech blogs. His work has garnered recognition from Protocol.com, Leadsbridge.com, MadMobile.com, and numerous other leading publications and corporations.