FOMO Social Media

"FEAR OF MISSING OUT" - is the formal nomenclature of the slang " FOMO ".

So let me explain what exactly this means by an example. Suppose you are sitting in your home watching TV while your friends are out for a road trip and now you can't do anything but wonder what all you gonna miss out. How much fun are they having without you there? Its a ubiquitous kind of feeling that rushes in your nerves and gives you a sort of anxiety of missing out what you have imagined in your head --the joy, the laughter, the jokes, the elation, etc. This is what in modern times we name it as FOMO.

Well to some extent it's natural for everyone to get this kind of feeling in a low to moderate levels but if it has become part of your very existence and renders you a sense of anxiety and depression, then it requires to be handled.

In today's world where the technology is touching skies and there's no bar when it comes to making use of social media ( so millennial of us), the FOMO has taken a catastrophic face altogether. People have started giving much importance to their ONLINE relationships than their OFFLINE bonds. Spending tons of hours online have made people robotic. Obviously, there's no denying the fact that social media has many positive aspects but one of the major side effects being this FOMO. People are unable to distinguish between the real and the virtual world. Moreover, the frequency and intensity of this are being increasing day by day. It's not only affecting the youth but people from different age and strata of society.

So how and when you realize you have an uncontrolled FOMO?

1. You are a social media addict i.e. you are always on phone scrolling down on your various social media handles.

2. You can very easily procrastinate important things 'offline' for being 'online' and constantly desire to stay connected to other people's lives.

3. You get anxious and panic ( even worst ) when you notice others are being rewarded, travelling, getting married, having children, buying expensive stuff, etc, etc.

4. Even on sick days, you overlook your health and always ready to go out, click pictures and then upload it on social media or make snapchat stories.

5. You spend more money than you can afford just to suffice your imaginary inferiority complex.

6. You need constant reassurance and appreciation or validations in the form of likes and comments (on social media handles) to satisfy your ego.

7. Always have a sense of insecurity, jealousy, enviousness or complex and feeling of missing out high points in your life as compared to others.

Effects of FOMO

1. Has pernicious effects on mental & physical health as well as social life.

2. Lost one's own identity. Try to constantly change in order to fit in their imaginary social arena.

3. Causes mood swings, aloofness, feeling of inferiority, reduced self-esteem, anxiety and depression.

4. Avoiding social settings, excessive social anxiety and fear of losing connect to people.

5. The relationship with people 'offline' also suffers ( worse cases ).

6. Higher levels of stress and negativity in-turn causes other physical illnesses.

7. Most important, it is a major obstacle for your personal growth and progress and it hampers your creativity and self-identity.

How to overcome FOMO

1. Focus more on your real and personal life than virtual and social life.

2. Re-frame your thought process and understand each person has his own share of high and low times of life and one always display high and joyous times on social media which you should not compare with your low times and feel bad or anxious about it.

3. Reduce your online hours and use your mind and energy in constructive and productive matters.

4. Replace your negative thoughts by the rational mindset and remember what is seen and perceived by you is just a fraction of one's life and nobody would expose his low and not so happening times.

5. Practice yoga and meditation so that one should try and deviate his thoughts from negative things to more logical and positive ones. Also, indulge yourself in sports and recreational hobbies.

6. Make your life goals and strive hard to achieve it, so that you don't have time to ponder over other's life and success. Make your own success story than to feel inferior by others.

7. Strike a good balance in your personal and professional life as such a person is always happy and content.