FOMO and How Its Affecting You

Have you ever examined yourself, swiping through the Instagram stories and kind of thoughts crossing in your mind? If these thoughts are making you anxious, frightened, or depressed you have landed on the right page.

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What is FOMO?

FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out is a refers to a feeling or perception that others are having more fun, or living a better life or experiencing better things that you are. It involves a deep sense of envy and affects self-esteem. Oxford Dict. defines it as 'anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media'.

History of FOMO

The first paper on the Fear of Missing Out—FOMO, the ailment of our cultural moment—was written back in the year 2000 by a marketing strategist named Dan Herman in the journal of brand management. Now, after a long incubation period, FOMO is suddenly ubiquitous. Studies estimate that around 70 per cent of all adults in developed countries suffer from the creepy, sometimes all-consuming feeling that something’s happening and they’re not a part of it.

According to Anita Sanz, a clinical psychologist, FOMO is historically linked to our survival. Missing out on a food or water source, for example, could be the difference between life and death. the information we know isn't vital but it still triggers a negative mental response.

FOMO in Contemporary World

Present-day FOMO is anxiety you experience in missing out the fun and interesting things.

Social media has fed into these feelings and turned it into an epidemic. It certainly doesn’t help your anxiety when you’re constantly being presented with proof that things are constantly happening even when you’re not around

FOMO is an immense part of our social lives and is continually perpetuated by social media. Each post, each tweet, each snap posted on any social media platform contributes heavily to the anxiety we feel. The more we browse, the more we feel left out. 

In the context of India where there's a huge change in data consumption after the cheaply available plans, it simultaneously increased the teenagers' engagement to these social media platforms like never before, constantly feeding the mind with entertainment, spending too much time on social media disconnect them from the real world, also being exposed to online bullying, being harassed or annoyed by some stranger.

Prolonged exposures to this turn into anxiety, severely affecting brain development and inducing emotional weakness.

Overcoming the Fear of Missing Out

You can use FOMO to your advantage actually. If done healthily it can actually motivate you to get out and socialize. This is productive only if you cut out the term “fear.” Fear is involuntary. This means we cannot control this response — we can simply hope to overcome it.

•Practice acceptance.

•Remind yourself it's just the part of the whole picture

•Ask yourself what it is you're really feeling 

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