In the world we live in today, there are endless concerts, parties, vacations and just utter amazingness that goes on every second of every day — thanks to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and the worst offender … Snapchat. With all of the social media, everyone knows what they are missing out on, at all times. This causes what we like to call: FOMO (fear of missing out).
Lets look at a hypothetical example of FOMO:
Suppose it is 10 p.m. on a Thursday night (a popular night to go out) and you have a huge history midterm the next day. While you are making hundreds of flashcards, you hear the loudness of everyone getting ready to go out. Now it is 11:30 p.m. and you decide to treat yourself to a little social media break. Everyone is Snapchatting or Instagraming and having an awesome time. You worry that that one person you like will find someone else or something amazing will happen, and you are not there. You are now cursing out your professor, wishing the exam was another day. This is when the FOMO kicks in.
Lets see how you would supposedly deal with this FOMO. Would you (1) forget about the exam and get ready to go out and go to the bar, acting like you were there the whole time; (2) watch every Snapchat and like every Instagram, again forgetting about your exam and cry yourself to sleep or (3) turn off your phone, memorize every historian and time period and ace that test.
For someone with severe FOMO, they would probably choose 1 or 2. But someone who knows how to deal with it would choose 3 — you will ace that test, and everyone else will wake up with a horrible headache. For those who need a little help with this ruthless feeling that everyone gets, lets look at what goes into the fear of missing out.
In college and pretty much everywhere, there is someone suffering from FOMO — there should be a national statistic created for this, like “1 out of 7 people are suffering from FOMO … at this very moment.” Whether you are not able to go to a party because of you have to work, you are sick/exhausted, you have to study, you weren’t invited, or you have other plans — there’s a humongous chance that you will have that fear of missing out.
But let's look at what FOMO is actually all about. It’s basically anxiety. Anxiety that you are missing out on the most amazing frat party, night at the bar, pre-game, making out with the guy you like, or hanging out with your friends. And guess where all of this stems from: social media and the constant ability for someone to text or call, telling you that you are missing out.
Snapchat Stories
Aka let me show you what I am doing every second of the day. Example: “Here is a video of me hanging out with my friends but not you. Here is a video of me in the cab on the way to the bar that everyone will be at. Here is a picture of me and the person you like!” By the end of the night, you will have watched all of their 90-second (or for some people 200-second) stories and you will have felt like you were actually there.
Aka let me show you how good I look and how much fun I look like I am having. It is an easy way to scroll through all the pictures and see who is going out and what you will miss out on. Or see that your ex just posted a pic with their rumored new fling (no like from you!).
Social media posts and texts from people talking about how much fun they are having causes the feeling of FOMO. But what people don’t understand is that, what you are missing out on, isn’t worth all the anxiety. There are always more parties that are better than the last, you will find a new crush the next weekend, and there will be another time to go out and life does goes on. If you look back and actually think of all the times you had FOMO, can you remember them all?
If you recall all of the times (liar liar), then think about them and see the things that you are glad you missed out on. Like maybe the fact that your friend got so drunk that you would have had to take care of them, ruining your night. Or maybe some of your friends got arrested, and that could have been you! Or the party just wasn’t as fun as it was made out to be, making you glad that you stayed in and caught up on your TV shows and enjoyed being alone.
FOMO is something that can be managed but not completely avoided. You can manage it by turning off your phone and enjoying your me time or studying hard. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing and be present in the moment. Focus on what YOU are doing. I know it is hard to try to hide this feeling — it is always going to be there. Think that maybe you aren’t missing out on the most amazing, spectacular or unreal time and guess what ... life will go on.
