You may have never heard of FOMO (Fear of missing out), but you have probably felt it at some point, since it is increasingly common to occur in the digital age, where we receive information ASAP (As soon as possible, as soon as possible). In fact, statistics indicate that most people have felt FOMO at some point and that approximately 70% of young people feel it at least once a month.
Seen this way, “do I have FOMO?” It is the natural question that we can ask ourselves in this circumstance, which is why it is important to identify the keys to this problem and, if it becomes palpable, how to find a solution.
Let’s propose a historical perspective, beyond social networks that have caused an outbreak of concern as a latent and chronic problem in society. To fully understand where it comes from, we must focus on the human psyche.
As gregarious beings, we have social tendencies that have been valuable for the survival of the human species. These trends are summarized in two: the desire to remain in a group and the need for information, or curiosity. The first is given by the need to remain in a group, the second has allowed us as exploring beings to know and learn new useful strategies to survive, also to transmit this information in order to perpetuate ourselves as a species, making life more comfortable. The form of information transmission began oral, from information carried by word of mouth to writing with the printing press and currently through a combination of both: digital media, from a YouTube channel to a blog.
We are continually connected and informed of what is happening in the environment, which is why we are allowed to participate in events, raffles and other social activities. At the same time, fears appear about knowing that so many things are happening in our environment that we are not able to receive and process so much information and that is when that feeling of fear of missing out on something important that may be happening.
Therefore, FOMO is not an exclusive sensation of our time, it has been present as a human concern but today we are aware that we could have all the information at our disposal but we do not have the necessary resources to manage it.
Do I have FOMO?
You may experience FOMO if you inevitably spend all day on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp statuses or Tik Tok, comparing your life with that of the other people you follow on social media. People with FOMO often find themselves browsing the profiles of family members, friends or influencers, observing what they do they eat, they cook, the number of children they have, how they dress, what they get and ultimately what they show us.
If realizing that you can’t attend that concert in your city, for which all your contacts have tickets, or that you can’t stop looking at LinkedIn in case that job offer that you’ve been waiting for for months comes up, causes you anxiety and agitation You may be suffering from FOMO. You can also have this problem, if when you enter a news item, you search more and more about it, or you review the trends and fashions in digital magazines over and over again.
You probably have FOMO when you feel jealous because you would like to be able to travel to that destination your neighbor has gone to, if they want the same car that your cousin has and you think that they are better off, because they have experiences and possessions that you want and don’t have. In short, if your emotional well-being is diminished by your desire to have what the people who appear on your social networks have.
To what extent can this problem affect me?
The consequences of FOMO are extensive, but the emotional exhaustion they produce can be highlighted, since we are constantly worried about not missing anything of the latest that happens, when in reality this information has limited usefulness. On the other hand, focusing on what you don’t have can result in losing the here and now, that is, the awareness of what is happening in the present of our own life. It can also deteriorate our self-concept since not what one possesses is insufficient, as well as relationships with third parties by generating resentment for what they have.
To minimize the consequences of FOMO we can carry out small actions such as limiting our exposure time to social networks, thinking positively about what we have and what we have achieved in our life, setting goals for what we want to do and who we love. become, as well as how to meditate and focus on our own self-care.
Should I go to therapy for FOMO?
Although OMO itself does not appear in the diagnostic manuals of psychiatry and clinical psychology, it can give rise to behavioral dynamics harmful enough to be a reason to attend therapy. Furthermore, on many occasions, this type of dependence on the use of digital platforms “in the cloud” hides behind it forms of emotional discomfort that are masked by actions as routine as scrolling through Instagram or Twitter as a way to escape. of the present.
In conclusion, FOMO can affect our lives in a negative way, so It is important to have strategies to control these actions and thoughts, and if it is necessary because it causes us a lot of discomfort, we should go to a professional. If you notice that this problem affects you too much, contact me; I can assist you and put at your disposal my experience as a psychologist specialized in clinical psychology.
