Fete Lifestyle Magazine January 2016 | Page 47

I have been hearing the term FOMO being used a lot recently. FOMO stands for “Fear Of Missing Out”, and is defined in the Urban Dictionary as an “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website”. I am fascinated that our society has developed a new term for the word anxiety. We have all felt FOMO before, but why has it developed into such an overused term? Let’s take an inside look at the term FOMO and see what it’s really all about.

People who experience FOMO may not always enjoy the moment or experience of life first hand. It’s almost as if they need an outsider to validate that their life experiences are meaningful, as if their friends opinions matter more than their own. FOMO immediately disconnects people from having in depth conversations because they’re scared that they might miss out on a good time somewhere else - leaving them unfocused and unsatisfied.

Have you ever seen pictures of a party on social media and you felt left out and wondered why you weren’t invited? Only to realize that you WERE at that party! That should assure you that your life is as cool as everyone else right? Yet that anxiety creeps right back in and you can’t help but wonder why you didn’t have as much fun as that person posting the photo! Photos can build situations up to look better than they really are and trigger FOMO. The competitive nature of our society to have “the best time - all the time” is exhausting. So how can we relieve ourselves from always chasing the life of the party?