Abstract
The information age has brought about the emergence of many digital tools. One of the tools is social media network sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, that have increasingly gained popularity worldwide. A large percentage of the global population is actively engaged in social media activities which have changed people’s way of life. Businesses also have to adapt to this change by being actively involved in social media. To take advantage of social media opportunities many consumer increase their social media activity which results in Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). Meanwhile, another phenomenon is social media fatigue, which refers to the feeling of being overwhelmed by social media usage. Although the two phenomena have been closely examined as separate topics, the relationship between FOMO and social media fatigue has not been properly addressed. This study fills in this research gap and strives to understand the relationship between consumers’ FOMO and consumer social media fatigue and adopted the extended literature review methodology. From the findings, it is clear that FOMO can result in social media fatigue. Particularly, three variables are discovered to be mediators of this relationship, which are information overload, anxiety, and depression. Clear evidence indicates that FOMO can lead to information overload which will cause social media fatigue. This shows that mediators factors may aggravate social media fatigue. In addition to influence by mediators, FOMO and social media fatigue itself also lead to negative emotions. These negative emotions influence FOMO and social media fatigue. Therefore FOMO, social media fatigue and these mediators interact and influence each other. Individuals with depression or anxiety are more likely to be affected by FOMO and social media fatigue. The results of this study provide a research foundation for how to effectively reduce social media fatigue and effective information delivery. It also provides supplementary research data on the relationship between users emotions on social media attitudes. Based on this finding, the study has an implication especially for organizations and how they market their products. Other stakeholders such as medical practitioners and education stakeholders also can form policies that address the effects of social media usage. This study will also have some implications for the treatment of depression patients and social media use.
