The Relationship between Gratitude and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) among Indian College Students: An Exploration

Digital interaction and social comparison are increasingly influencing psychological well-being in young adulthood, which demonstrates the significance of positive psychological qualities like gratitude in understanding experiences such as Fear of Missing Out (FoMO). Gratitude represents a state of appreciation and satisfaction, while Fear of Missing Out is anxiety associated with the feeling of social exclusion and the lack of experiences, particularly digital ones. Therefore, the objective of the current research is to investigate the gender disparity in gratitude and Fear of Missing Out, evaluate the connection between these two, and test how gratitude predicts FoMO among Indian college students. The sample of 126 college students (63 males and females) aged 18 to 25 years was selected using a random sampling technique. Data was gathered using GQ-6 (McCullough et al., 2002) and FoMOs (Przybylski et al., 2013). The findings showed there was a considerable gender difference in gratitude, wherein the females out-scored the males (t = -2.06, p< .05). It was established that gratitude was significantly and negatively correlated with FoMO (r = -0.178, p<.05). Regression analysis also revealed that gratitude was a significant predictor of Fear of Missing Out (F = 4.06, p< .05), explaining 3.2% of the variance in FoMO scores (R² =.032). The results suggest that gratitude is a beneficial psychological resource that can help buffer against the FoMO as it limits social comparison and focuses on what things one already has. The study highlights the possible utility of positive psychology-based and digital gratitude interventions, which may be focused on recognizing existing positives, in mental health interventions targeting psychological well-being improvement in college students.