From parties to pressure: The cost of college FOMO

November 8, 2025 The Parthenon

With the rise of social media, many students are now facing a new kind of pressure: FOMO, or the fear of missing out.

The term describes the stress caused by seeing peers post online at events or gatherings that others couldn’t attend. While the word may be recent, the feeling is not. Students throughout the years have faced the same struggle of maintaining a healthy balance between academics and social life.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have been eager to make up for lost time and participate in more after-school activities. For some, the thought of missing out on the big party or another social event can be difficult, and seeing these moments posted online often amplifies that stress.

Senior Trey Miller said he understands the feeling well and wishes he had entered college with stronger priorities.

“I think a lot of people come to (Marshall) and get caught up in everything going on off campus,” Miller said.

“Looking back, I think I could’ve prioritized school more, but seeing posts of other people doing exciting things made me rethink staying in,” Miller said.

As more students experience this growing sense of comparison, the Psychology Department has been offering workshops for those who feel increased anxiety related to social media use as well as other problems students may be facing.

Britani Black, licensed clinical psychologist with the Marshall Psychology Department, said she has seen how social media use can intensify these feelings among students.

“… Social media really dives into the idea of social comparison. We look at ‘What are other people doing?’ We compare ourselves to those individuals, and I often wonder if FOMO kind of happens because of that. You’re seeing other people do something and wishing you were doing it as well, and you may feel anxious because you’re not doing those same things,” Black said.

Influencer culture has also played a role in this rise as more people carefully curate their lives online. Black said these perfect portrayals can distort how viewers perceive themselves.

“I think it does have the potential to impact mental health. I think social media in general, there’s been a lot of conversations on (if) it impacts mental health in adolescents, teenagers, that young adult population that we see in college. I think it has the potential to impact self-esteem, maybe feeling like, ‘I’m not doing these things, so therefore, there’s something wrong with me,’ when in reality, we can’t do all the things all the time,” Black said.

Black said while finding balance may be difficult, setting a routine can help students manage their time and reduce stress.

“Trying to not procrastinate on certain things buys you back that time to be able to engage in some of those social activities you want to do,” Black said.

Students are encouraged to take advantage of campus mental health services for support.

“There’s a lot of fantastic mental health resources in general on campus. Our Counseling Center is free to students. We also have the Psychology Clinic. I’m actually the director of that, which is a training clinic where our doc students work with students and community members to provide mental health services like therapy, assessments and more,” Black said.

For a full list of workshops offered by the Counseling Center, visit www.marshall.edu/counseling. More information about Marshall’s Psychology Department can be found at www.marshall.edu/psych.

Abby Ayes can be contacted at ayes@marshall.edu.