Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMO)
10-item measure of FoMO about social anxiety, online checking, and the fear of being left out
Ever seen friends hanging out without you on social media and felt a pang? Or found yourself refreshing your feed even though you know nothing new is there? That is FoMO and this is the scale that measures it. The FoMO Scale by Przybylski et al. (2013) has 10 items that capture how much the fear of missing out affects you. Not a diagnosis, just a mirror.
What Is the FoMO Scale?
Ever catch yourself wondering if your friends are doing something fun without you? That nagging feeling has a name: Fear of Missing Out, or FoMO. Przybylski and colleagues built this 10-item scale in 2013 to put a number on it.
What It Measures
FoMO has a few overlapping layers:
- Anxiety about others' experiences - worrying that your friends are off doing more interesting things than you
- Social monitoring - the urge to keep checking on what other people are up to
- Information dependence - that fear of missing a joke, a plan, or a piece of news
- Online sharing - feeling that posting about it online is part of actually experiencing it
Reliability and Validity
The scale holds up well - Cronbach's alpha of 0.87-0.90 across multiple studies. It correlates moderately with social media use (r = 0.47) and negatively with well-being (r = -0.42). Factor analysis supports a single-factor structure.
Interpretation
Scores run from 10 to 50. Higher means more FoMO. FoMO is not a disorder - just about everyone experiences it to some degree. But if your score is on the higher end and you feel it's interfering with your sleep, focus, or mood, it might be worth paying attention to.
> This is a self-assessment tool for personal exploration, not a clinical diagnostic instrument.
Scoring Guide
Each of 10 items rated 1-5 (1=Not at all true of me, 5=Extremely true of me). All items forward-scored. Sum range 10-50. Higher scores indicate stronger FoMO. Mean in the original study (Przybylski et al., 2013) was approximately 29. This is a self-assessment tool, not a clinical diagnosis.Result Interpretation
After completing the 10 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.