In the 84th episode, Dr. Knabb explores the topic of fear of missing out, or FOMO. First, he discusses a secular psychological perspective on the topic, including how FOMO relates to social media overuse and mental health problems. Then, Dr. Knabb offers a Christian view on the topic. Ultimately, the antidote to FOMO, for Christians, may be cultivating a deeper contentment in God. To conclude, he guides listeners through a short meditative practice to pivot from FOMO to contentment in the God of love.
References
Burroughs, J. (2018). The rare jewel of Christian contentment: Abridged and in modern English. Rob Summers.
Cordaro, D. T., Brackett, M., Glass, L., & Anderson, C. L. (2016). Contentment: Perceived completeness across cultures and traditions. Review of General Psychology, 20(3), 221-235.
Gupta, M., & Sharma, A. (2021). Fear of missing out: A brief overview of origin, theoretical underpinnings and relationship with mental health. World Journal of Clinical Cases, 9(19), 4881.
Huang, X. (2025). Mindfulness in social media exposure: The pressure-reducing valve for fear of missing out and social media fatigue. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1641462.
Knabb, J. J., Vazquez, V. E., & Wang, K. T. (2021). The Christian Contentment Scale: An emic measure for assessing inner satisfaction within the Christian tradition. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 49(4), 324-341.
Taylor, T. A., Medvedev, O. N., Owens, R. G., & Siegert, R. J. (2017). Development and validation of the State Contentment Measure. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 152-159.