So you didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans and the whole world seemed to be all drums and violins. Only if I was on that side of the fence…if that’s what you are thinking right now, you are a classic victim of ‘FOMO’!!!
FOMO is a common abbreviation derived, and given relevance to, by the so-called Generation-Z. This Fear is an animal, a thief, a fox that deprives us of our emotional maturity by stealing it when we require it the most. The Fear of Missing Out is a well-known psychological phenomenon which is entirely based upon the feeling of dismay and regret that is experienced when a person misses out on another experience. It’s usually the case that you suffer a lot more in imagination than in reality. Meaning that what’s bothering you is not that you are missing out, it’s the FEAR experienced while thinking about missing out.
“Oh! Only if I was on that side of the fence, partying there with the glamorous, instead of completing the mundane house chores or boring work assignments.”
This fox can attack you when a friend is getting ahead in life. It steals you of your patience when others are having a good time and you aren’t invited. FOMO hunts you down and strikes you in the weakest moments like when you see online stories and reels of your friends and acquaintances. It is powerful enough to pull you down if a colleague is invited to a dinner with boss. As for younger people, it is experienced by most teenagers who have this certain ‘need’ to attend every single party, or gathering and thus desperately be approved in the “popular” circles.
FOMO Symptoms and Effects
It has multiple behavioral and psychological symptoms.
- You feel the need to attend every dinner, every gathering, every party
- You constantly feel the need to change yourself
- You try to follow different fashion trends to fit in
- You feel that you cannot catchup with everybody else
- You think nobody likes you
- You crave for endless approval and validation from everybody and nobody
Poor sleep, decline in mental health, endless laziness and even depression are some of the major effects of the FOMO.
Dismay or anxiety is, both, a cause and a factor of this fear, for any situation creates a Dilemma before a Decision is made and later, brings us Distress.
Social media is one of the most significant platforms which contributes to causing the FOMO. Youngsters, in desperation to follow common trends, end up being victim of this fear. It further develops a fear of not being able to fit in properly with their surroundings too. There are two types of victims – the ones who actually miss out and the ones who fear that they might miss out. Both suffer almost the same.
How to get over FOMO?
The most discussed solution is quitting social media but that is not exactly practical for a lion’s share of the population. Instead of quitting, one can lessen the time or take a break to learn to enjoy their own company and do things which they love without comparing themselves to others.
Secondly, and most importantly, people need to understand that what people post on social media isn’t actually what their life feels like, instead it’s just a highlight of their life and is quite often fake or manufactured, a result of Photoshop. What people post is far from reality and devoid of any real emotion.
Ultimately, sometimes one just needs to accept that even if someone’s life is more happening, trying to achieve what they have is unreasonable, it’s a never ending race. The comparison is silly and we should just keep working on and be grateful for what we have.
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