Written By: P.V.Ananthalakshmi Principal, Helikx Open School
It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon. I was bored watching the Television. I opened my Facebook looking at the posts. I noticed that most of my friends updated their status. They have shared the photos of their new car, new apartment, dresses, visited weekend resorts, jewellery, wardrobe collection the list goes on endlessly. When I saw these I felt an uneasiness creeping up in my mind. First I couldn’t accept that feeling, slowly I confessed it is a fear of missing out which involves jealousy. Hope everyone has experienced this emotion that leads to a fear of missing out.
What is Fear of missing out?
Fear of missing out or FOMO in short, refers to the feeling or perception that others are having more fun, living better lives, or experiencing better things than you are. It involves a deep sense of envy and affects self-esteem. It is often exacerbated by social media sites like Instagram and Facebook.
It has only been studied during the past few decades, beginning with a 1996 research paper by marketing strategist, Dr. Dan Herman, who coined the term "fear of missing out."
FOMO has some interesting consequences. When one tries to do too much at once they may end up doing very little of anything. This leads to increasing the stress and anxiety. Especially the adolescents right now are facing severe FOMO due to the uncertainty of their education and examinations during this pandemic.
Check the following to see if you have FOMO:
Surfing the phone throughout the day/even in the presence of others.
Obsession and active on social media/involved in many social groups
Curiosity to know other’s plans/likes gossiping.
Living beyond means.
Attending parties/social gatherings even though not interested. (Hopefully that’s reduced now due to the ongoing pandemic)
Saying YES when you shouldn’t.
Likes to be surrounded by many people.
Imagining that everyone else is having the fun.
Always dreamy and having delusions of others leading luxurious lives.
How to help students facing FOMO?
Accept that one can’t sail in two boats at the same time. For each decision we make, it means that we can’t do something else. Students should realise this and execute things as per the priority.
Application of WIN questions - What’s Important Now?. Find out the important things and prioritise them over others.
Focus on what’s happening at present. Researches show that spending most of the time with phone, social media leads to negative impact to sleep patterns, mood swings and related problems.
Do things that matter to you, not just what you can write about online. People often give an overly positive and unrealistic representation of their lives online. Don’t try and compete with these shadows – it’s impossible to catch them.
Taking yourself offline every now and again is probably quite a healthy strategy, especially as FOMO is strongly associated to the time spent on social media platforms.
Do one thing at a time – it’s hard to multi-task, so fully focus on one thing. Multi-tasking is a bit of a myth. Instead, people often switch between tasks. This can take up time and energy. If accuracy is important (say during revision), better to fully focus on one thing, finish it and then do another.
Enjoy the journey – embrace the process, as well as the outcome. Outcomes can sometimes be anti-climactic. However, working hard and dedicating yourself to your goals rarely is.
Life is short and time is precious. If you only focus on the end product and not the process that got you there, you may miss opportunities to learn, improve and enjoy yourself.
In the end, show gratitude to what you possess.
Takeaways:
Fear of missing out (FOMO) can lead to utmost stress and an unfit mind that struggles to make commitments.
FOMO is a type of anxiety disorder experienced when individuals have a pervasive apprehension that others may be having rewarding experiences from which they are absent.
Some experts believe that FOMO is exacerbated by social media.
Overcoming FOMO requires behavioural changes.
Don’t compare, enjoy your uniqueness.
Enjoy living with the self. Remember Joy of Missing Out (JOMO – we’ll be talking about that soon!).
Take a break from social media. Extend the break and get your life back.
If needed seek the medial support that you require.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman (From the Ted Talk by Priya Parker)
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