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When every event you miss feels like a failure, staying home and relaxing without care might be the true success. People constantly check their phones to see what their friends or family are doing; however, this habit only causes more anxiety and sadness when others have fun without them. This feeling is called FOMO, or fear of missing out, and it has become increasingly prevalent among people.
FOMO is a common feeling that arises from the perception that others are having fun, experiencing new things, or living a better life than you. It can happen in close relationships, one-sided relationships, and on social media. With social media advancements, FOMO becomes more complex to avoid since people constantly see what others are doing. However, it isn't dependent on social media and can happen in other scenarios. It usually happens to people who have low self-esteem, poor body image, anxiety, or depression. Most of these people's connections are through social media, which hugely contributes to having FOMO.
FOMO is extremely hurtful to teenagers and young adults who are still trying to find their place in life and determine what groups they’re part of. The fear of missing out can have some negative impacts on people’s physical health, mainly the ones related to anxiety. People can experience stomach tension, nausea, headaches, body aches, pain, increased heart rates, and emotional distress, which are all symptoms that may come with FOMO. People's mental and emotional health is also affected. Negative self-talk and intrusive thoughts make it challenging to maintain self-esteem —. If you can identify FOMO as the cause, it's crucial to find solutions for it.
It isn't easy to enjoy your time alone when you think everyone else is having a better time than you, but a few ways can help you enjoy your time instead of feeling that you are missing out. The first way is to find hobbies you enjoy. By including them in your day, you can distract yourself and focus on something other than what other people are doing. Another way to enjoy this time is to make plans for it. If you spend an entire day in bed doing nothing, it's easy to look at what others have done and feel like you’re missing out. Instead, plan and separate time for specific offline activities. Avoiding social media and doing a digital detox is also a good strategy. Constantly seeing what others are doing makes you prone to comparing yourself. If you unplug for some time, it is easier to live in the present moment and enjoy each minute. You can also spend meaningful time with people close to you. A simple activity with a friend, partner, or family can bring you joy without checking your phone. Self-care is also very important. Going for a walk, taking a bath, meditating, and listening to music helps people feel comfortable in their skin. Focusing on yourself is crucial, allowing you to worry about other people less. Finally, setting boundaries is also essential. Sometimes, you have an overwhelming amount of events, many of which you don’t enjoy. Be more selective of how you spend your time and choose to do what you like. It's important to ask yourself if you genuinely want to do that or just want to be part of something.
Some benefits do come when you stop fearing missing out. Your productivity and focus can improve, engagement in your relationships can increase, and your emotional and physical well-being can also improve. However, constantly spending time alone isn't good. FOMO motivates people to leave their comfort zone and explore new things. It creates deeper connections and encourages people to reach out to others and initiate plans.
To prevent FOMO from growing more and reaching more individuals, people have started to promote JOMO, the joy of missing out. It is the idea of changing all of your fear and stress from missing out on events to the joy and acceptance that it is okay to be on your own sometimes. There are plenty of organizations out there whose goal is to help and spread JOMO to the ones in need. So, if you suffer from FOMO don’t keep yourself from turning it into JOMO!
Sources:
Cleveland Clinic. “FOMO Is Real: How the Fear of Missing out Affects Your Health.” Cleveland Clinic, 22 Aug. 2023, health.clevelandclinic.org/understanding-fomo. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
Cleveland Clinic “What Is JOMO? How to Enjoy Missing Out.” Cleveland Clinic, 3 Oct. 2023, health.clevelandclinic.org/jomo-the-joy-of-missing-out. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
Freepik. “A Person Relaxing at Home.” Freepik. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
GigaStar. “Embracing the Positive Side of FOMO: How Fear of Missing out Can Propel Growth.” Medium, 30 Aug. 2023, medium.com/@GigaStar.Official/embracing-the-positive-side-of-fomo-how-fear-of-missing-out-can-propel-growth-5ac4a157e20f. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
Nash, Jo. “Embracing JOMO: Finding Joy in Missing Out.” PositivePsychology.com, 12 Dec. 2023, positivepsychology.com/jomo-joy-of-missing-out/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.
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