FOMO: Fear of missing out
I recently saw a friend post on social media about how instead of going to any of the Halloween parties she was invited to this past weekend she ended up staying in because of how overwhelming the decision was. She mentioned that she was afraid she was going to pick the wrong party to go to and end up missing out on having a better time at another party.
This story really draws a strong picture of how the current technological era we are in can take over our decision making. With things like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook pictures and videos are constantly being uploaded creating anxiety for everyone that watches because they are not at that place or doing that thing. This anxiety is created by the fear of missing out or FOMO for short. Like in my friend's case it can be so overwhelming that instead of picking something to do and making the best of it you do nothing at all. Social media has become such a powerful tool that instead of keeping people updated with what's going on in there life it now causes an almost disability to a person. Fifteen or twenty years ago no one knew what happened in anyone else's life unless it was by word of mouth, and even then it didn't cause as much stress as just posting a single picture could now.
Realizing how crazy social media has become, it caused me to slowly start pulling away from it completely. I realized that I too was starting to get FOMO over certain situations and it would cause stress that I didn't know I had nor wanted. Since slowly detaching myself from social media, one app at a time, I have been significantly less stressed and have been able to focus more on myself. Although it can be hard to pull away from social media, due to how ingrained it is in our lives, it can be a truly mind altering experience.
This story really draws a strong picture of how the current technological era we are in can take over our decision making. With things like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook pictures and videos are constantly being uploaded creating anxiety for everyone that watches because they are not at that place or doing that thing. This anxiety is created by the fear of missing out or FOMO for short. Like in my friend's case it can be so overwhelming that instead of picking something to do and making the best of it you do nothing at all. Social media has become such a powerful tool that instead of keeping people updated with what's going on in there life it now causes an almost disability to a person. Fifteen or twenty years ago no one knew what happened in anyone else's life unless it was by word of mouth, and even then it didn't cause as much stress as just posting a single picture could now.
Realizing how crazy social media has become, it caused me to slowly start pulling away from it completely. I realized that I too was starting to get FOMO over certain situations and it would cause stress that I didn't know I had nor wanted. Since slowly detaching myself from social media, one app at a time, I have been significantly less stressed and have been able to focus more on myself. Although it can be hard to pull away from social media, due to how ingrained it is in our lives, it can be a truly mind altering experience.
Mat I can totally to recently "pulling back" on social media. I myself went to a Halloween party this weekend and didn't post a single picture, tweet, story or snap. It wasn't because I didn't have an amazing time, i just actually enjoyed my time with others instead of documenting the whole experience like i might have done in the past. Kudos to you and your friend for taking a stand, and putting you first.
ReplyDeleteKeep ditching the guilty pleasures of social media, Mat! I myself have deleted my Facebook because I started to not care about what past high school classmates were boasting about. Just gotta remember that everyone can make their lives perfect on their web pages and it's whats in the inside that counts. I recommend deleting your past accounts and only having professional pages via social media. Already got a killer twitter! Anyone reading this go follow @matgorecki
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