Quick summary: A study of 500 Filipino emerging adults has found that higher levels of FOMO are associated with greater social connectedness, a pattern that runs contrary to findings from Western research. The result reflects the collectivist values embedded in Filipino culture, where staying attuned to the social lives of others is an expression of belonging rather than a sign of anxiety or exclusion. Mental health practitioners and researchers working across Southeast Asia should account for this cultural dimension when interpreting FOMO scores, as applying Western psychological measures without adaptation risks misreading the well-being of the people they are designed to support.
A new study has found that fear of missing out on social events, widely known as FOMO, may carry a very different psychological meaning in the Philippines compared to Western countries. Rather than signalling loneliness or social anxiety, higher levels of FOMO among young Filipinos were linked to stronger feelings of social connection and belonging.
The research, published in ISPCE Bulletin, examined 500 Filipino emerging adults aged 18 to 30. Researchers set out to test whether the Fear of Missing Out Scale, one of the most widely used tools for measuring this kind of social anxiety, produces valid and reliable results outside of Western, individualist cultures where it was originally developed.
The results were striking. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the scale’s original single-factor structure held up well in the Filipino sample, with good internal consistency recorded at a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88. In practical terms, this means researchers can confidently use the tool with Filipino populations.
More surprising was the direction of the relationship between FOMO and social connectedness. In studies conducted in Western countries, people who score highly on FOMO measures tend to report feeling isolated, anxious, or excluded. Among Filipino participants, however, those who scored higher on the FOMO scale also reported feeling more socially connected, not less.
The researchers attribute this to the deeply collectivist nature of Filipino culture, where social harmony, family ties, and group belonging are central to everyday life. Lead researcher Abegail Ricafort noted that cultural context played a defining role in shaping the results. “Cultural sensitivity proved to be one of the key aspects in designing effective counselling programmes,” she said, adding that the findings point to the importance of “providing counsellors with additional training, creating a stigma-free environment, and promoting cultural sensitivity.”
The concept of pakikisama, a Filipino value roughly describing the importance of getting along and maintaining group cohesion, may help explain why social vigilance in this context carries a different weight. Staying informed about the experiences of friends and family, and wanting to participate in collective events, aligns naturally with widely held social expectations rather than running counter to them.
This finding has real implications for mental health assessment and digital well-being research. Practitioners working with young Filipino adults should not assume that elevated FOMO scores indicate psychological distress. The cultural context in which these feelings arise matters enormously for accurate interpretation.
The study also raises broader questions about whether widely used psychological measures developed in Western settings can be applied globally without adjustment. As social media use continues to grow across Southeast Asia, researchers are increasingly calling for culturally grounded approaches to understanding how platforms affect mental health.
Ricafort said the team plans to explore these questions further. “Our future plans are to conduct further research into innovative guidance and counselling techniques that use technological tools, including virtual counselling and mobile applications, to improve accessibility and effectiveness,” she said.
