azam moghadas; Farzaneh Ghasemipour
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Instagram membership on the emergence or spread of FoMo syndrome among users. The growing popularity of Instagram has made people to use this social network on different motivations. However there are unintended effects and consequences that sometimes ...
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Instagram membership on the emergence or spread of FoMo syndrome among users. The growing popularity of Instagram has made people to use this social network on different motivations. However there are unintended effects and consequences that sometimes are unknown to users. FoMo is a feeling of discomfort arising from the awareness of the valuable and pleasant experience of others, which is formed by being present in cyberspace and following the activities of other users. In this study, the relationship between Instagram membership and the emergence or spread of FoMo syndrome, in the light of Festinger's social comparison theories, Turner’s emotional arousal theory, McQuill’s use and satisfaction theory, is tested by a synthetic method: a documentary research and semi-structured interview with 23 people (clinical and non-clinical samples). Findings from the interview show that Instagram membership may lead to the creation or spread of FoMo by allowing social comparisons and creating feelings of deprivation, worry and anxiety; It also seems that, personality disorders, lack of self-esteem and weakness of social and cultural capital, intensify the impact of Instagram use on the emergence of FoMo among the members of this network
