FOMO hits hard – but influencers help young consumers cope

Influencer connection offsets FOMO’s negative impact on young consumers’ social, psychological, and financial well-being, a study has revealed.

When an influencer wears one of “the latest drops,” the internet shakes with desire.

As aspirational needs mount, the lack of having the goods causes a longing sensation, popularly known as FOMO, or fear of missing out.

This isn’t always restricted to social events, but a connection to idols themselves..

A new study by Ohio State University has found mixed signals at play, as they asked 863 US 18-40 year old social media users how much FOMO they feel and how attached they feel to influencers.

The individuals then self-reported their levels of social, psychological and financial well-being.

The main finding was that despite FOMO causing a decrease of well-being, participants felt better inside when the attachment to the influencer was stronger.

Why influencers feel like friends

Parasocial relationships are common when a fan develops a strong admiration for another person, typically an influencer that they don’t know personally.

Influencer marketing doubled from the years of 2019-2021, particularly on Instagram, the researchers found.

This brought about higher levels of social, psychological, and financial well-being as reported by respondents.

“We don’t know why people felt better about their financial well-being. It is something we are exploring in another study,” pondered study co-author Cäzilia Loibl of Ohio State.

This could be because of a soothing effect – the fact that influencers might stand in for a friend in the way of guidance, validation and belonging.

Buying products like UGG minis or a Djerf Avenue summer berries robe gives the audience a sense of control and community participation.

FOMO still takes a toll

Despite the discrepancy of influencer attachment sparking positive vibes, the study also revealed the negative sense of not getting a piece of the action.

“Our findings are among the first to show the negative role that FOMO has on young consumers as they look to keep up with what’s fashionable,” said lead researcher Abby Bartosiak.

A complex set of findings for a fuzzy concept – more studies have been touted by the team – and they may shed further light on this emotional back-and-forth.

“Influencers can provide a sense of connection that benefits consumers in terms of their feelings of well-being, but there are still concerns about overconsumption and what this might do to people in the long run,” Bartosiak explained.

This shows that a sense of bonding is good, but that overindulgence is best avoided.