FOMO: the fear of missing out; anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.
In today's day and age of posting everything on social media and having to go to every social gathering without being ridiculed for staying in, the actual recognized psychological disorder of the fear of missing out is very real and a little bit scary. It has really stemmed off of our generation's addiction to technology, and even I find myself being envious of seeing others out and not being a part of it. In simpler terms, it's safe to say that most people feel that way when seeing celebrities out partying at night, or even feeling left out when your friend doesn't invite you to dinner, even though you were at work or busy doing something else at the same time. With everything going on in our hectic lives, here are some ways to not feel left out.
Have a Schedule.
Plan out your weeks and your days and communicate with your friends so you can find times to all be with each other. It could be dinner or going out on the weekend, but you'll have better chances of not being left out.
Staying in can be better.
If you do see something that you weren't invited to, but you are sitting at home in your pajamas and binge-watching Netflix with your dogs, and saving money, then who is really the winner in that situation?
Have fun when you do go out.
Don't just go out because you are bored or take for granted going out; go out to have fun and be with people that you want to be around, and don't feel that you have to obligated to do anything.
Try not to take it personally.
Sometimes if you see yourself not being invited, it's most likely not a malicious act. They just forgot. Most of the time when I do go out with friends, it's pretty spur-of-the-moment and extremely unplanned. I know it's harder said than done than to not take it personally, but if they are really your friends, they didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
Don't always believe social media.
Just because someone posted something on Snapchat or Instagram doesn't mean that you just missed out. A lot of the time things are distorted and the people who posted it made it to look that way on purpose.
As annoying as it might be, try not to get hung up on the small things because you shouldn't worry about things that are out of your control. Just try and be happy with you and your life.
