Hey guys!
Good morning and namasthe.
Today I thought of writing about FOMO. This is ‘the’ basic lingo guys. If you are a millennial or a Gen Z, you should probably be knowing about it. FOMO aka ‘fear of missing out’ is the modern day social devil as far as mental health is concerned. The term was invented by Patrick J McGinnis (please do check out his podcasts on FOMOsapiens, link to which is given at the end of the blog).
FOMO is basically the feeling or perception that others are having more fun, living a better life or are experiencing better things than you are. When I'm saying this, you all might be wondering, 'that's so me!' Indeed it is. That is a whole lot of us.
We all are in a constant hustle by comparing our regular life with other's highlights. This evidently lowers our self-esteem, leading to a kind of irrational stress, anxiety and depression. Even happiness sometimes seem to be subjected for competition.
Nowadays, specially in this scenario of pandemic, FOBO (fear of being offline) has become the new FOMO.
In my opinion as far as FOBO is considered, social media has become the platform for bragging (obviously it has its pros and cons). Sometimes it is so manipulative, we become addicted to these modern standards of living portrayed by the social media influencers, that we make them our decision makers. It's a scandal.
The notion of missing out on things has become a part of our life. But why do we have to make it a part when we have a choice. I mean we should be able to choose what we actually want and have the courage to miss out on the rest, to focus on what we have and rather what we lack, to seek out real connections, to embrace JOMO (joy of missing out).
I'm a person who gets fomophobic even when it comes to simple hangouts or family gatherings. For me keeping a journal always helped. It helped put me in a sense of control, to wrap my head around certain facts. Sometimes reaching out to an old friend or spending time reflecting on the things that I'm grateful for also helps. Such activities can help us put things in perspective and release the anxiety of ‘missing out’ on things.
So yea ! See you guys soon with another interesting content. Till then bye.
Link for the podcast :
