DISCUSSION
The propositions developed for this study and the empirical support
provided for the test of the hypotheses will demonstrate the influence
of FOMO and social media engagement on individuals. Currently, more
research should be conducted in order to identify the unique
characteristics of Millennials that distinguish them from other
generations. In addition, the phenomenon FOMO needs to be studied at a
greater depth which would help us understand its antecedents and
consequence. This study predicts that when individuals experience Fear
of Missing Out (FOMO), they are likely to participate in social media
activities. FOMO incites individuals to believe that they’re left out of
a social experience, and that emotion can be alleviated by engaging in
social media platforms. Secondly, the study predicts that there is a
positive relationship between the level of self-determination and social
media engagement. Self-determination theory explains the three
psychological needs that needs to be satisfied: competence, autonomy and
relatedness. Individuals can satisfy these three needs by engaging in
social media activities. Competence can be addressed by sharing various
accomplishments on these platforms, autonomy can be addressed by sharing
only posts related to the individual’s interest, and relatedness can be
addressed by staying connected with peers via these social media
platforms.
Thirdly, the study predicts that neuroticism in individuals strengthen
the positive relationship between social media engagement and negative
affectivity in Millennials. People who are neurotic in nature tend to
experience negative emotions such as anger, contempt, disgust, guilt,
etc. more intensely than individuals with low level of neuroticism.
Social media engagement (use of Facebook) has been reported to give
mental distress to individuals (Greitmeyer & Sagioglou, 2014).
Individuals with high level neuroticism are likely to experience this
mental distress more intensely, therefore, the variable “neuroticism”
will strengthen the positive relationship between the level of social
media engagement and the level of negative affectivity in Millennials.a
periodeear.