I have thing feeling that we have started to over-classify some things. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is one of those things. It's been talked about a lot recently, and whether we like it or not, it's very much real.
We can say any addiction is bad, why should we categorize addiction to social media, to electronic devices, to content driven media differently. I think there are a couple of differences in being addicted to things like cigarettes or alcohol or drugs than being addicted to electronic media. In the first case, it's very easy to identify yourself as an addict. In the second case, it's not.
You keep on saying to yourself, everyone's doing it, so am I. There's nothing going on. Another difference is, there are no noticeable side effects, like Alcohol for instance.
Often you would not even realize that you went from being on Facebook a few minutes a day to more than a hour. You wake up in the middle of the night to see if the photo you just posted has more likes. You keep checking the email app every 10 minutes or so, seeing if some important mail you were waiting on has arrived. Even if you are standing in front of one of the seven wonders of the world, your mind is constantly looking around for that perfect spot to take a cool snap to share with your friends. Or maybe yelling at someone for grabbing a bite from the dish that just arrived before you get a chance to photograph it and post it on Instagram. Watching live sport and something controversial happens, you instantly stop looking at the TV and start looking at twitter feed to see other's reactions to what happened.
I think we are in constant search for approval. From our friends, our society from peers from everyone. We want to go to places whenever we see pictures of our friends going and having fun. We want to see every good movie in the first week, or the first weekend itself. We don't want to be left out. We feel saddened if on a long weekend, we see posts of friends going places all over our Facebook feed and we are sitting at home catching up on an old Netfix serial.
Problem is we want to be a part of every glamorous that we see through the periscope of the lives of people we know. But, to be fair, social media is just the 'glamour' part of people's life. It's not the complete picture. Nobody puts out the ugly part of their life on the internet. You will see posts of people making it to the 'Top places to work' on linkedIn, but you don't really see their struggle of getting rejected by 10 others.
I think it's okay to miss out on certain occasions. I think there should be no fear of missing out really!! Anytime you are missing out on something, you can utilize that time to do things that you actually care for. I remember when i went to Bali a couple of years ago, I used internet only once a day just to check if everything is okay with friends and family and that nothing crazy has happened in this world. I did not feel like I missed out on anything. Ever since, I try to stay off my mobile every-time I go on a trip.
Response to an email can wait. Messaging to your friends on whatsapp/imessage/sms can wait. I am sure your genuine friends would understand if you wish them happy birthday a day after and have a meaningful conversation rather than staying up till midnight just to spend a minute wishing happy birthday. It's okay if you stay in a local AirBnB instead of a fancy beachside resort your friends stayed on and raved about. It is okay that the restaurant you ate at is not zagat rated or tripadvisor top 50. It doesn't matter. Until you start caring what the world cares.
We can say any addiction is bad, why should we categorize addiction to social media, to electronic devices, to content driven media differently. I think there are a couple of differences in being addicted to things like cigarettes or alcohol or drugs than being addicted to electronic media. In the first case, it's very easy to identify yourself as an addict. In the second case, it's not.
You keep on saying to yourself, everyone's doing it, so am I. There's nothing going on. Another difference is, there are no noticeable side effects, like Alcohol for instance.
Often you would not even realize that you went from being on Facebook a few minutes a day to more than a hour. You wake up in the middle of the night to see if the photo you just posted has more likes. You keep checking the email app every 10 minutes or so, seeing if some important mail you were waiting on has arrived. Even if you are standing in front of one of the seven wonders of the world, your mind is constantly looking around for that perfect spot to take a cool snap to share with your friends. Or maybe yelling at someone for grabbing a bite from the dish that just arrived before you get a chance to photograph it and post it on Instagram. Watching live sport and something controversial happens, you instantly stop looking at the TV and start looking at twitter feed to see other's reactions to what happened.
I think we are in constant search for approval. From our friends, our society from peers from everyone. We want to go to places whenever we see pictures of our friends going and having fun. We want to see every good movie in the first week, or the first weekend itself. We don't want to be left out. We feel saddened if on a long weekend, we see posts of friends going places all over our Facebook feed and we are sitting at home catching up on an old Netfix serial.
Problem is we want to be a part of every glamorous that we see through the periscope of the lives of people we know. But, to be fair, social media is just the 'glamour' part of people's life. It's not the complete picture. Nobody puts out the ugly part of their life on the internet. You will see posts of people making it to the 'Top places to work' on linkedIn, but you don't really see their struggle of getting rejected by 10 others.
I think it's okay to miss out on certain occasions. I think there should be no fear of missing out really!! Anytime you are missing out on something, you can utilize that time to do things that you actually care for. I remember when i went to Bali a couple of years ago, I used internet only once a day just to check if everything is okay with friends and family and that nothing crazy has happened in this world. I did not feel like I missed out on anything. Ever since, I try to stay off my mobile every-time I go on a trip.
Response to an email can wait. Messaging to your friends on whatsapp/imessage/sms can wait. I am sure your genuine friends would understand if you wish them happy birthday a day after and have a meaningful conversation rather than staying up till midnight just to spend a minute wishing happy birthday. It's okay if you stay in a local AirBnB instead of a fancy beachside resort your friends stayed on and raved about. It is okay that the restaurant you ate at is not zagat rated or tripadvisor top 50. It doesn't matter. Until you start caring what the world cares.
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