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.