”Shame of missing out”, det nya FOMO : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om hur känslor hos unga kvinnor upplevs när influencers uppmanar till konsumtion på Instagram.

Sammanfattning: With the increasing trust and power of influencers on social media, more research and information are needed on how influencers affect the emotions of their followers. The climate that exists on social media today contributes to calls for unsustainable consumption, which is something that influencers in particular contribute to. This phenomenon is something that requires knowledge, especially in the perspective where people's emotions are analyzed. This study will therefore study how FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is experienced on Instagram, from a consumption perspective among young women. The study also aims to investigate how impulsive consumption is triggered by FOMO created by influencers on Instagram. This is relevant as the concept of impulsive consumption creates an unsustainable consumer society. Since, according to previous research, influencers have a great impact on young social media users, this study also seeks to understand which specific characteristics have the greatest impact on purchase decisions. The empirical material has been collected through eight qualitative interviews that have been analyzed using the analysis strategy of thematization. The analysis has answered the three research questions set for the study: • How do young female social media users relate to the potential relationship between FOMO and impulsive buying decisions? • What emotions are created in young female social media users during impulsive consumption on Instagram? • What specific characteristics of influencers do young female social media users perceive as triggers for impulsive buying? The results of this paper shown that FOMO is a problem linked to consumption on social media. However, there is no established sense of fear but rather a sense of shame. Thus, the concept of SOMO (Shame Of Missing Out) is proposed in the study's discussion as the concept could be relevant for further studies. The study has also concluded that influencers affect the behavior of friendship circles, which means that people who do not follow influencers are also affected by their behavior in consumption. There are differing opinions about which character traits of influencers are seen as triggers for impulsive consumption. It appears from the collected empirical data that down-to-earth character traits are effective, but also character traits that show a luxurious lifestyle. This study has shown that there is an established problem regarding FOMO, consumption and influencers that needs attention. However, more research is needed to be able to draw more reliable conclusions on the subject