FEAR OF MISSING OUT
MAY 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ..................................................................................
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Fearr Of Mi Fea Missi ssing ng Out Out (F (FOM OMO) O)..................................................................
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Trend........... ........................ ......................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ......................... ......................... ............... ...
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Drivers ............................................................................................................
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Who’s Afraid of Missing Out? ................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ ........
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Manifestations ................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. ..............
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Significance/Relevance ............... ............................... ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... ...
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................................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... ...... ............................... ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... ......... Appendix ............... Learn More About Our Experts and Influencers .............. .............................. ................................ ................ Additional Charts ............... ............................... ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... ...........
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Potential
A note to readers: To make the report easy to navigate, we’ve added hyperlinks to the t he Table Table of Contents, so you can jump immediately to the items that most interest you (or, alternatively, you can read the material straight through). ntelligence.com to to download this and This is a report from JWTIntelligence. Go to JWTI to JWTIntelligence.com other trend research.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ..................................................................................
3
Fearr Of Mi Fea Missi ssing ng Out Out (F (FOM OMO) O)..................................................................
4
Trend........... ........................ ......................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ......................... ......................... ............... ...
5
Drivers ............................................................................................................
6
Who’s Afraid of Missing Out? ................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ ........
9
Manifestations ................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. ..............
12
Significance/Relevance ............... ............................... ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... ...
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................................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... ...... ............................... ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... ......... Appendix ............... Learn More About Our Experts and Influencers .............. .............................. ................................ ................ Additional Charts ............... ............................... ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... ...........
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Potential
A note to readers: To make the report easy to navigate, we’ve added hyperlinks to the t he Table Table of Contents, so you can jump immediately to the items that most interest you (or, alternatively, you can read the material straight through). ntelligence.com to to download this and This is a report from JWTIntelligence. Go to JWTI to JWTIntelligence.com other trend research.
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FEAR OF MISSING OUT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We’re in a FOMO state We’re state of mind, and it isn isn’t’t pretty pretty.. That’ That’ss Fear Of Missing Out, for those those unfamiliar unfamiliar with the acronym. acronym. Quiet nights in are turning turning into nerve-racking nerve-racking and unproductive unproductive hours spent refreshing newsfeeds. newsfeeds. We get too many emails with offers on everything everything from designer duds to soap, soap, yet we can’t can’t bring ourselves to unsubscribe. unsubscribe. We We go to parties but keep our gaze gaze affixed affixed to our phones, checking email, email, texts and and posts. posts. Today we are exposed more than than ever before to what others around us are doing, doing, and we’re we’re filled with a gnawing gnawing uncertain uncer tainty ty abou aboutt wheth whether er we’v we’vee made the right right choic choicee about about what to do or or where where to be—no be—nott just in a given given momen moment,t, but in stages stages of our lives as well. well. And And our friends aren aren’t’t helping helping,, touting their their every FOMOFOMO-worthy worthy move in real time. time. We’ e’ve ve always had had a fear of miss missing ing out, but it’ it’ss exploding exploding with the onset onset of real real-tim -time, e, locat location ion-ba -based sed and social social media tools.. This tools This report report iden identifie tifiess which which cohort cohort is most most pron pronee to FOMO FOMO and how how they resp respond ond to it, it, spotl spotlights ights how FOMO is manifesting in the zeitgeist, zeitgeist, and looks at the wide-ranging wide-ranging potential for brands seeking seeking to tap into FOMO. FOMO. METHODOLOGY Our trend reports are are the result of quantitative, qualitative and and desk desk research conducted by JWTI JWTIntelligence ntelligence throughout the year. Specifically for this report, report, we conducted a quantitative study study in the U.S. U.S. and the U.K. using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary proprietary online tool, from March 4-15, 4-15, 2011. We surveyed 590 Americans Americans and 434 Britons aged 18-plus 18-plus (data are weighted by age and gender); we also also polled 87 teens aged aged 13-17 residing residing in the homes of adults surveyed.* In addition, addition, we interviewed experts and influencers influencers in technology technology and academia. *All teen data shown combines U.S. U.S. and U.K. U.K. respondents; splitting the data by country would render unreliable base sizes. sizes.
EXPERTS AND INFLUENCERS*
h t i m S e n i r a h t a C
BIANCA BOSKER , sen senior ior technolog techn ologyy edito editorr at The Huffington Post
h t i m S . A c r a M
DAN HERMAN, HERMAN , CE CEO O of international strategy consulting firm Competitive Advantages
MARC A. SMITH, SMITH , soci sociolog ologist ist and chi chief ef soci social al scienti scientist st at Connected Action Consulting Group
*See Appendix to learn more about these experts and influencers. influencers.
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