Many students experience the phenomenon of fear of missing out (FOMO) and anxiety about being left out of information on social media. This feeling can impact various aspects of life, including religious behavior. Social media, which was originally used for communication and information sharing, has now become a space that triggers social comparison and psychological pressure, resulting in a tendency to ignore aspects of one's spirituality and religiosity.
This research aims to explore how FOMO manifests among Islamic Education students, how their religious behavior is expressed, and whether FOMO on social media has a significant influence on their religious behavior. It uses a quantitative approach with a simple linear regression analysis method. The sample consisted of 71 respondents from the 2021 class of students surveyed using a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through a Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS version 23 program.
The results of the study show that the level of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) among Islamic Education students at UIN Walisongo Semarang is categorized as moderate. This is indicated by the average scores on all measured indicators, need to belong, need for popularity, anxiety, and addiction, which show students tend to remain digitally connected as part of their daily habits. At the same time, students’ religious behavior is generally high, as reflected in their consistent implementation of ritual worship, spiritual appreciation, and the application of Islamic values in daily life. However, the study also reveals that FOMO on social media has a significant negative effect on students' religious behavior. This finding is proven through a simple linear regression test, where the regression coefficient for the FOMO variable is -0.411, with a calculated t value of -5.410 (greater than the t table = 1.667) and a significance level of 0.000 (<0.05). The coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.298 indicates that the presence of FOMO behavior on social media has a negative effect of 29.8% when excessive. However, if FOMO is reduced, religious behavior may improve, while the remaining 70.2% is influenced by other factors beyond this study’s scope.