A Cure for FOMO?
Hi readers!
It’s Georgia again, here to talk about the fear of missing out, otherwise known as FOMO. This is a psychological phenomenon where someone may feel anxious that they are missing out on an exciting event happening elsewhere. I am sure almost all of us have experienced FOMO before and perhaps even more so recently. FOMO started out as a buzz word that was mainly associated with the younger generations who are avid social media users, but it turns out that this phenomenon affects people of all ages. The word was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013! You may now be wondering what triggers FOMO and how to best overcome it, so those are the questions I hope to answer here.
Georgia Campbell
Marketing Intern at Maryland Counseling Associates
As you may expect, FOMO is related to social media use. Studies have shown that people prone to experiencing FOMO use social media more and vice versa – more time spent on social media sites can lead to those feelings. It is easy to imagine that scrolling through pictures of friends and celebrities out at dinner or on vacation can cause jealousy to arise, but most people don’t experience FOMO every time they check social media. It turns out that some intrapersonal traits, such as unhappiness and low self-esteem, in combination with increased social media time is more likely to lead to FOMO. The feelings that give rise to a fear of missing out are intertwined with one of our basic psychological needs – the need for social belonging. If this need has not been satisfied, we may turn to social media to feel “in the loop”, but that action can then backfire by making you feel more excluded.
Ever since the pandemic began, we have all been confined to our homes more than ever before with most aspects of our personal and professional lives shifting to virtual spaces. In fact, according to a poll conducted in May 2020, 51% of adults in the U.S. reported using social media more since the outbreak of Covid-19. Now with a whole year spent behind screens, we are all feeling like we’ve been cheated out of fun due to refraining from attending social gatherings. Unfortunately, many people’s lives on social media may look normal and from increased use of those websites, you may be left with severe FOMO. We may even be experiencing FOMO looking back on photos from pre-pandemic life!
For some people FOMO may cause uncomfortable feelings, but they likely will fade quickly after getting off social media. For others, however, this phenomenon can exacerbate the loneliness or low self-esteem they are already facing. Cliché expressions like “stop and smell the roses” or “look on the bright side” may actually help to prevent and “treat” FOMO. Reminding yourself of what you are grateful for can go a long way. If we try hard to be more satisfied with how our life currently is, we will be less likely to feel as though we are perpetually missing out on something better. It is easier said than done, but if you have found yourself experiencing FOMO it would be good to take a step back from social media or just use those sites differently. Rather than mindlessly scrolling through your feed, use your accounts to catch up or make plans with friends - even if it is just a socially distanced walk or a get-together on Zoom. Humans have an inherent desire for relatedness and affiliation, so there may be no cure for FOMO, but taking the steps described above may help lessen the detrimental effect that feelings of social exclusion can have on our well-being.
