FO·MO ˈfōmō/ anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.
Fear of missing out or FOMO is “a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent”. This social angst is characterized by “a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing”.
FOMO is also defined as a fear of regret,which may lead to a compulsive concern that one might miss an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, profitable investment or other satisfying event. In other words, FOMO perpetuates the fear of having made the wrong decision on how to spend time, as “you can imagine how things could be different”.
That is the definition of FOMO bouncing around.
So are you are FOMO? Well, you are if this happens to you a lot, while sitting or standing in the Del Rey or Key Largo or other joint, eyeing the parade of women, looking for the right one for tonight. “Is she the one or do I wait to see what is coming in next?”
It’s not a surprise you can’t decide, choose. Most of us have a pretty bad case of FOMO, if we’re willing to admit it.
It’s normal to feel this anticipatory regret from time to time. FOMO makes us lose perspective, driving us, often blindly, to decisions we don’t want to make.
Recent studies have shown that FOMO is often linked to feelings of disconnection and dissatisfaction, and that social media fuels it. Think how many people constantly scan email or Facebook or forums to keep up with updates. Some people don’t just want to keep up – they start to compare and evaluate their lives based on how they see others portraying their own.
As an article from Psychologies Magazine points out, FOMO is a phenomenon that predates the trendy abbreviation; it’s a “modern take on the grass being greener on the other side.”
You might be a FOMO if you …constantly scan the room for every girl …can’t choose one over the other over another …regret the decision after making it ..wish you had chosen her over her …had just waited a minute more and you would have taken what just came in …
My guess is you’re reading this because FOMO feels familiar to you.
Whatever choice we make, there’s always a chance a different choice might have been more fun. Especially if things go wrong.
The good news? FOMO, like most things, is a choice. When you know what’s going on, you can name it and claim it. There is no problem coming out, telling your best friend you’re a FOMO.