Fear of Missing Out as a Neuropsychiatric Vulnerability Syndrome in Adults: A Conceptual Review Integrating Anxiety, Predictive Cognition, Emotional Dysregulation and Digital Allostatic Load

Abstract

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) has become a defining psychological experience of the digital era. Although widely studied in relation to social media use and problematic smartphone behaviour, FOMO has rarely been examined through a neuropsychiatric lens, particularly in adult populations. Existing research predominantly conceptualizes FOMO as a situational motivator or behavioural correlate, underestimating its role as a chronic cognitive-emotional vulnerability. The present article advances a novel framework positioning FOMO as a neuropsychiatric vulnerability syndrome characterized by persistent anticipatory anxiety, predictive cognitive overload, attentional fragmentation, emotional dysregulation, and cumulative digital allostatic load. This study employed a structured narrative-conceptual review methodology. A targeted literature search was conducted across PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus using predefined keywords related to FOMO, anxiety vulnerability, predictive processing, emotional regulation, adult development, and digital stress. Articles were screened for relevance to adult populations and neuropsychiatric mechanisms, with priority given to empirical studies, longitudinal research, and theoretical integrations published in peer-reviewed journals. Findings were critically synthesized through thematic analysis to identify recurring cognitive, emotional, and developmental mechanisms, which were subsequently integrated into a unified vulnerability model. Drawing upon psychological, cognitive, developmental, and neuropsychiatric scholarship, this review demonstrates how FOMO operates as a sustained vulnerability mechanism rather than a transient digital concern. Adult developmental contexts are emphasized, highlighting how identity consolidation, career pressures, and perceived irreversibility of choices intensify FOMO-related distress. By reframing FOMO as a syndrome-level vulnerability embedded within adult cognitive-emotional functioning, this article contributes a theoretically advanced perspective to contemporary neuropsychiatric discourse.