FOMO SOCIAL PHENOMENON: HOW AND TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT AFFECT DENTAL STUDENTS? A 2022 RESEARCH
FOMO is a social phenomenon related to the constant anxiety or even fear of experiencing social isolation. It usually has various negative consequences that affect people’s lives. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the extent of FOMO’s consequences on students of the School of Dentistry of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, as well as their level of satisfaction with their lives. The research was carried out with self-referential questionnaires, with two well-known psychological scales, SWLS and FoMOs. Throughout the statistical analysis of the sample’s answers, it was found out that most participants are women at the age group of 18-24 with no job and monthly income of less than 300 euro. Also, TikTok and Facebook seem to be mostly preferred for long-distance social communication. However, most participants prefer face-to-face social contact. The replies to the questions of the two psychological scales showed that the mean value of FOMO level is equal to 24,095 and the mean value of SWLS scale is 21,6. So, based on the scales’ classifications, the students of the examined university population seem to experience moderate FOMO level and slight satisfaction with their lives. At the same time, it was noticed that the lower the FOMO level, the higher the satisfaction with life. But, there is a need for further surveys examining FOMO phenomenon in Greece in order to fully understand the level of satisfaction with life of people who are more connected with social media.
Keywords: FOMO, FoMOs, social isolation, social media, SWLS.
