Fear Of Missing Out Scale

10 questions that will help you understand how severe your fear of being left out of social events is.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | August 31, 2023

Do you often feel that no matter how outgoing you may be, you are still left out? The Fear Of Missing Out Scale is a simple 10 item unidimensional scale that can help you understand your feelings of insecurity and inferiority, especially about missing out on important social events.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

Step 1: Answer the questions below based on your everyday experiences and how true you feel they may be for you.

1. I fear others have more rewarding experiences than me.

2. I fear my friends have more rewarding experiences than me.

3. I get worried when I find out my friends are having fun without me.

4. I get anxious when I don’t know what my friends are up to.

5. It is important that I understand my friends "in jokes."

6. Sometimes, I wonder if I spend too much time keeping up with what is going on.

7. It bothers me when I miss an opportunity to meet up with friends.

8. When I have a good time it is important for me to share the details online (e.g. updating status).

9. When I miss out on a planned get-together, it bothers me.

10. When I go on vacation, I continue to keep tabs on what my friends are doing.

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores to people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.

References: Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in human behavior, 29(4), 1841-1848.