A Human-Centered Design Framework for Understanding FoMO in Social Media Use

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) has often been defined as a personal disposition and tendency to use social media intensively. However, there has been relatively little research on how the features of social media platforms mediate FoMO experienced by university students as a lived experience. To address this gap, this qualitative study revisits a primary dataset consisting of 12 semi-structured interviews conducted among active social media users in the Philippines. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used for analyzing the data and five superordinate themes were derived: perception of loss of connection, negative affective response, boredom and restlessness, perception of social exclusion, and platform-identity entanglement. These findings are conceptualized into a human-centered FoMO design framework, which captures the relationships between platform features, aspects of FoMO experience, and well-being-focused design interventions. This study contributes to the literature in two ways: through providing qualitative insights into FoMO among university students in the Philippines and using IPA findings to inform social media interface design for digital well-being.