FOMO, otherwise known as the “fear of missing out”, has become a staple vocabulary word in the lives of college students across the globe. It has become so prominent that the Oxford Dictionaries online now has it defined as “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media websites.”
As hard as it is for some to admit, we have all suffered from FOMO before in one way or another. FOMO has become the reason why you just have to go out on Wednesday night before your midterm or why you go to the same frat house over and over again despite never having a good time and complaining about it the next morning.
The fear of missing out is very real thing among college students, and when you think about it seriously for a moment, it is actually pretty dumb and ridiculous. We either over commit ourselves to so many different affairs, or instead we don’t commit to anything just in case something better comes up later on. FOMO makes us stupid – plain and simple. It becomes this crippling thought in the back of our minds that we cannot seem to shake, despite our brains and our bodies begging us not to go out and stay home instead.
While each person is different, here are some tips in helping you to overcome your fear of missing out!
1. Admit you have FOMO.
Admitting it is the first step. Once you recognize that you have FOMO, it will be much easier to accept and conquer. If you do not admit it, the cycle will continue, and it will be much harder to wrap your head around the reality of FOMO.
2. Do you really want to go out, or are you just going to say you went and get in some Insta-worthy pictures?
Before going out ask yourself why you really want to go. Do you want to go to spend quality time with your friends or spend a night out on the town because you haven’t in awhile? Or, do you want to go out to say you went out or because you know all of your friends will be taking pictures for Instagram all night and you want to make sure you land in a few? Get your priorities straight and learn to know the difference between actually wanting to go out versus FOMO.
3. Recognize that social media can be insanely deceptive.
Over the last few months, there has been the debate over social media not being real life. Whether you agree with that idea or not, it is important to realize that what is being posted on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat is not always a true perception of the night. It is easy to post a picture with an upbeat caption proving that the night was fun, but in reality that could be a total lie. Plus, if you see someone updating Snapchat all night from a party, the party is probably not that fun if they have to be on their phone all night.
4. Remember that any party or social gathering is not the last one and that there will be plenty more in the future.
So there is a party on Friday night that everyone is going to, right? Well, there is also a party going on Saturday night, Sunday night, and honestly even during the weekdays. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that if you do not attend one social event that there will never be any other event again. Guaranteed that next weekend, and the weekend after that, and the weekend after that will all end up being pretty similar.
5. Accept that things are going on without you and move on.
So you check social media and you see that your friends are out and about, seemingly having a great time. That’s great, good for them, now put down the phone and stop obsessively checking for new stories to be added on Snapchat! Take this time to be present in your own life and to do your own thing. Don’t let social media drag you down a spiral of unhappy emotions, and don’t make yourself crazy all night thinking about what may or may not be happening. Things may be happening without you, but that doesn’t mean it is the end of the world. There is always next weekend.
Don’t let the FOMO get you down, Gauchos!