As an acronym coined to stand for ‘fear of missing out’, FOMO is a genuine fear- especially if you’re a millennial.
According to a recent study by ‘Eventbrite’, FOMO is felt by a large majority of millennials when they cannot attend a family event, or social gathering consisting of their closest friends. Devising a poll for over 2000 adults, their study found that 3 out 4 18-34 adults said that they would rather spend money on experiences than physical objects.
But why?
Before social media, you probably didn’t know what your friends and family were up to at every hour of the day, so you were unable to feel excluded or left out. But with the rise of exposure to Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, it is almost inevitable to escape seeing what everyone is doing at every hour of the day, and this is where FOMO kicks in.
If you experience constant feelings of FOMO, these are 5 things that you will most definitely understand:
1. No matter where you are or what time of the day it is, you constantly check your phone to check that you’re not missing out on anything.
2. Seeing someone you rarely know, or distantly like having a better time than you, angers you and gives you the unnecessary feels of FOMO.
3. You start spending unnecessary money on events that you don’t really care about, just so you don’t feel FOMO
4. Even if that means third wheeling on a friends date, just so don;t miss out on anything.
5. Feeling an absence of any fun activity and questioning if you even have any friends.
Sources: