Hi There, Wondering What This Is?
Welcome! This website is here to explore how social media can amplify the Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO, and what can be done to make it better. Through a set of ten UX principles, each addressing a different aspect of FOMO, you’ll find ideas and solutions to help make online experiences healthier and more balanced. Whether you’re a designer, a curious reader, or someone looking to rethink how we engage online, this site offers inspiration and practical insights to spark new perspectives.
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What Is FOMO, Really?
FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, is the feeling you get when you think others are having more enjoyable and rewarding experiences than you. This feeling can happen for many reasons, but it often becomes stronger on social media, where we are constantly exposed to what others are doing. When these feelings are not managed, they can affect mental health and make the experience of using social media stressful or unsatisfying.
What Are the UX Principles and Where Do They Come From?
The user experience (UX) principles on this site are designed to explain different aspects of FOMO, how they happen, and how the design of social media can increase or reduce them. These principles were developed through design research, with a focus on co-design – an approach that shifts from the traditional method of designing for users to designing with people. This ensures the ideas are grounded in real experiences and shared insights. The goal is to offer thoughtful ideas that can make social media experiences healthier and more mindful. You can read more about the research behind these principles by clicking on the Read More button below.
A Plugin Concept to Reduce FOMO
ScrollPal is a third-party plugin concept designed as part of a design thesis research project to help users engage with social media in a more mindful and emotionally aware way. Rather than asking users to quit or avoid platforms, ScrollPal offers subtle, in-the-moment support to reduce feelings of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and promote intentional online behavior. This plugin empowers users by helping them recognize when FOMO is affecting them, offering personalized strategies to stay grounded, and providing creative ways to reflect on their usage. With ScrollPal, users are supported to take control of their experience instead of feeling overwhelmed by social media. Learn more about this concept by clicking on the Read More button below.
What to Keep in Mind While Reading
These principles aren’t rules or quick fixes. They are ideas to spark conversation and inspire change. You’ll see that FOMO can affect people in different ways, and not every solution works for everyone. Think of this as a starting point for reflection, both for users and designers, about how social media could feel more supportive and less stressful.
A Visual Framework for Mapping UX Principles
After organizing the ten principles into four focus areas, I created a two-axis framework to show how they vary by user vs. platform control and whether they address direct or indirect FOMO. This helps clarify how each principle functions within the overall user experience.
Each principle has been thoughtfully placed within this framework. You can read the rationale for its specific placement on its individual principle page.
Each principle has been thoughtfully placed within this framework based on its core mechanism and how it interacts with user behavior and platform design. The rationale for each placement is explained in more detail on its individual principle page.
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User-Controlled: These are platform features or design elements that the platform provides, but users have more options to customize how they function based on personal preferences. For example, many social media apps allow users to adjust which types of notifications they receive.
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Platform-Controlled: These are features that are applied by the platform as default settings, with limited options for user adjustment. While users may engage with them in different ways, the core design and behavior are mostly determined by the platform. For example, some platforms automatically determine the order of posts in the main feed based on engagement or relevance, without giving users the option to change how that order is set.
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Direct FOMO: These principles minimize clear and recognizable feelings of missing out. They target the fear users may have of missing rewarding experiences they are not part of.
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Indirect FOMO: These principles minimize subtler types of FOMO that are less obvious but still create feelings of missing out. These feelings may come from comparison or other indirect triggers.
User Experience Principles to Minimize FOMO:
Click each principle to explore it in more detail
Category one:
Encouraging Authenticity & Everyday Expression
Category two:
Empowering User Agency & Customization
Category three:
Designing for Mindful, Non-Compulsive Use
Category four:
Enabling Informed, Inclusive, and Socially Connected Experiences
Get to Know
the UX Researcher
Hi, I’m Maryam Alihoseini, a user experience designer and researcher. I’m an empathetic UX researcher who connects user stories with their needs to craft user-centered solutions that simplify complexity and spark delight. I’m currently pursuing my MFA in Design Research and Development at The Ohio State University. This page is part of the outcome of the design research I conducted for my thesis.
If you’re interested, you can explore my portfolio, dive deeper into the research behind these principles, or reach out to connect with me.
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