I Missed Out, Now What?

Finally, you were able to come home and just lay on the couch. Despite your friends’ insistence, you chose not to go out. Also, your phone keeps ringing due to text message from your WhatsApp groups. Now, think about the anxiety that you probably start to feel. Are there things that you are missing out? This feeling is called FOMO, fear of missing out.

The meaning of “fear of missing out”, is the anxiety that we feel when we think about a possible exciting event taking place somewhere else. However, FOMO is different than regret. In FOMO situations, we think about the present-time occasion contrary to past occasions. In regret situations, we think about past events. How can we be so sure that an exciting event is taking place? The effect of social media enters here.

Unknown. 2018. “FOMO nedir?.” Cnnturk. https://www.cnnturk.com/teknoloji/fomo-nedir

On social media platforms as Instagram or Twitter, even the hashtag FOMO became popular. Seeing Instagram or Twitter stories “of the gathering of your friends that you decide not to go to can create a feeling that you can miss out. What if there is a topic that your friends talked about and you do not know? The feeling of the need to catch up has an important effect on the anxiety. FOMO can also result in depression or stress. Depression causes pain, chronic fatigue, and a decrease in motivation to do anything. Stress causes head and stomach aches, problems with sleep and sex, and issues in blood pressure.

We mostly give the decision to not go to the event or not giving replies to the messages on the message group by ourselves. Thus, there is an issue about perceiving missing out as being solely our fault. According to research, losses affect people two times more than gains. It is plausible to think that our natural inclination is to stop the distress of missing out and to focus on our loss if we do. When we choose one option, we tend to think about the possible gains of the other option. Also, we tend to think about the possible losses of the option we have chosen.

Unknown. 2012. “Missing Out: Are You a Slave to FOMO?.” Womenshealthmag. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a19920788/fomo/

People of all ages, gender spectrum points, and races can experience FOMO. The reason is that usage of social media and smartphones has expanded to all ages, gender spectrum points, and races. Another research area about FOMO is the life satisfaction of the individual. If we think our needs are not being met, thus have lower levels of life satisfaction results in severe FOMO experiences.

Do all people experience the feeling of missing out? The answer to this question is no. The feeling of missing out usually is a result of problematic internet usage and problematic cell phone use. Especially, problematic online social networks. Do we always have to feel like this? The answer to this question is also no. A possible way to minimize the effect of FOMO is to change our focus. Rather than focusing on what we could miss instead we can think about what we already have. For instance, by not constantly looking at stories, we can lessen our social media time.

Unknown. 2021. “Virtual Social Anxiety.” Idtherapy. https://www.idtherapy.ro/blog/anxietate-depresie/anxietatea-sociala-virtuala/

If we think about the achievements of our friends from our university or colleges, we can feel that we miss out things in our life choices. In this case, arranging meetings with our friends or simply do what our hobby is can be beneficial. Lastly, appreciating what we have in our lives is always helpful in cases of FOMO. Keeping a gratitude journal or just think about things that we have is also beneficial. So, let’s not “miss out”!

Sources:

Zimmerman, L. (n.d.). Do you fear missing out? Apa. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2016/01/missing-out

Scott, E. (2021, April 25). Do You Have FOMO? Here Is How to Cope. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-cope-with-fomo-4174664

Hayran, C., Anik, L., & Gürhan-Canli, Z. (2020). A threat to loyalty: Fear of missing out (FOMO) leads to reluctance to repeat current experiences. PLOS ONE, 15(4), e0232318. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232318

Why We Feel FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and What to Do About It. (n.d.). SCL Health. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from https://www.sclhealth.org/blog/2019/03/why-we-feel-fomo-and-what-to-do-about-it/.