Have you ever said yes to attending a social event even though your bank account says no?
FOMO – Fear of Missing Out – is a very real phenomenon that affects people across the nation, as well as their wallets! It refers to the deep feeling of envy you get that other people are having more fun or experiencing better things than you. This sensation is often exacerbated by social media platforms, which can have a significantly negative effect on your self-esteem if you are constantly exposed to the event you feel you’re missing out on. In fact, the concept of FOMO is so widespread that in 2013, the word was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary!
Money-saving and coupon advice website, Couponing101.com, conducted a survey of 3,500 people to investigate just how much they are spending to avoid the feeling of FOMO, as well as how many overspend on payday leaving them strapped for cash for the rest of the month.
It was found that overall, Americans admitted they would spend 8.2% of their salary in order to avoid the feeling of FOMO. This is the equivalent of $326.04 per month and a whopping $3,912.50 per year!
More locally, it was found Utahns admit to spending $349 per month in order to avoid FOMO. The study also revealed that 34% of Utahns say they overspend on payday and consequently, struggle financially to make it to the end of the month.
When broken down by state, it was found that respondents in Louisiana (60%) were most likely to overspend on payday, while those in Iowa were least likely (7%).
The survey also found that one third of Americans feel sad and excluded after seeing photos of friends and family at a social event they did not attend. Women (41%) felt this way more than men did (24%).
Doing it for the ‘Gram? Additionally, nearly 1/5 (16.3%) of people admit that they go to events or on trips with photos for social media in mind! Again, women (17.1%) tend to do this more than men (15.5%).
Can’t say no: Worryingly, 17.3% of those surveyed say they have organized a loan or credit card to be able to afford to go somewhere because they didn’t want to miss out. 18.9% of women admit to this, as compared to 15.7% of men.
The survey also asked people in which area of their lives they tend to spend the most money due to the pressures of social media. These results were found to be vacations (35%), restaurants (23%), events (15%), health and fitness (13%), makeup/hair products (7%) and clothing (7%).
Moreover, when asked which social media platform was most likely to cause Americans most FOMO, 66% of respondents said Facebook; 13% said Instagram; 13% said Twitter and 8% said Snapchat.
