Sarah Imtinan Basalim | Media Studies
At least once in your life, you had doubted your decision that impacted your interaction with other people. You hesitated to stay at your crib because your friends are in the café right now, having their third topic of conversation already. They have been exploring the bizarre facts of the 8th president of the United States right after they talked about the possibilities of living outside the planet earth. This time, they also invited the new kid on the block as well. You may not know that person, but you feel miserable not being able to be recognized by your friends in today’s hangout.
You know well your friends are bursting out in laughter because the new kid has a great sense of humour, at least it’s better than yours. “This might be their most memorable hangout since I’m not there today”, said yourself. You certainly know that you could be emotionally stable if you had come with them. On top of that, you saw their new post on social media and regret is an understatement.
Note to yourself that you are not missing anything that day. Fear of Missing Out or FOMO makes you create a situation where could brutally compare your life the highlights of others. This phenomenon is not new to the world today but has been accelerated by the effects of social media. The blame is not on other people for sharing their lives because it is you who have interpreted the unique statement where you think that you are not enough compared to your environment.
However, FOMO can be experienced by any age and gender. Regardless whom you are, you are likely to be consumed by other people’s life highlight and think that you are lacking something personally important to you. When people have tried the new street food or bought the newest gadget on the market which you have not bought yet, you tend to think that you are not qualified enough to be a part of the society. This leads to unhealthy behaviour, for example, high daily screen time. Apparently having FOMO means you need to have a higher engagement on social media because it meets your satisfaction when you can finally find other people’s flaw which you do not have.
Instead of buying whatever unnecessary thing that is wasteful, try to change your focus. Again, you are not missing anything in your life. The real missing out is when you miss yourself and got distracted by the unhealthy thoughts of not being enough to fit the society. There are simple things to do to avoid FOMO – the first one is to change what you see on the feeds. Review what you follow on social media so that you are able to know what has been bothering you. Other than that, you need to know which connections that will keep you sane. Experiencing loneliness means that we seek real connections with people, not to follow their unnecessary lifestyle. Lastly, focus on your gratitude. Keep track of the things that you appreciate and thankful for, or maybe write them down in a journal to look at how much you already have.
Your mental state is important. Relieve yourself with what you have instead of finding the rabbit hole of social networking.