Original Article ISSN (Online): 2582-7472 ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts Communicating with Communities: Transcending the Borders January-June 2023 4(1SE), 181–198 How to cite this article (APA): Gokul, G., and Karthika, C. (2023). The Impact of Fear of Missing Out (Fomo) on Social Media Users of Kerala. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 4(1SE), 181–198. doi: 10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i1SE.2023.459 181 THE IMPACT OF FEAR OF MISSING OUT (FOMO) ON SOCIAL MEDIA USERS OF KERALA Gayathri Gokul 1 , Dr. Karthika C. 2 1 MAJMC, Department of Visual Media and Communication, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, Kerala, India 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Media and Communication, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, Kerala, India ABSTRACT With the growth of social media platforms, people are becoming increasingly linked and exposed to a vast amount of information, updates, and happenings in real-time. Anxiety and the worry of missing out on things, opportunities, or relationships may be aggravated by the constant flood of social media content. Overusing social media platforms has been linked to the psychiatric disorder known as "Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) because, at times, users use these sites to compare their lives to those of others and keep up with and constantly check on what their friends are up to. This study aims to explore how social media use and FOMO are related. The paper will employ a method of quantitative analysis, which involves collecting data from a sample of social media users in Kerala via an online survey, as well as a qualitative method, which involves interviews with leading psychologists and the analysis of a literature review. The study will employ theoretical frameworks like social comparison theory, self-determination theory, and uses and gratifications theory to analyse the data and understand the connection between social media usage and FOMO. The findings of this study will give an insight of social media usage and FOMO while highlighting the psychological impacts of social media usage on an individual's wellness. Received 01 April 2023 Accepted 03 July 2023 Published 08 July 2023 Corresponding Author Gayathri Gokul, g.gokul1100@gmail.com DOI 10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i1SE.2023.4 59 Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. With the license CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author. Keywords: Social Media, FOMO, Social Media Usage 1. INTRODUCTION Communication has always been an important part of human life. Initially, they were representations of pictorial meaning, which later progressed to the beginnings of semiotic interpretation. With the advent of technology and the development of communication, people have seen the development of radio, telephone, computer, and internet, of which social media is the most common and effective form of communication to date.