If you feel you are suffering from feelings of missing out, it can be helpful to reach out to a friend or spend some time reflecting on the things you are grateful for in your life. Activities like these can help us put things in perspective as we gather a greater sense of belonging and release the anxiety of “missing out” on anything. You may find yourself seeking a greater connection when you are feeling depressed or anxious, and this is healthy.
Research shows that a fear of missing out can stem from unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life and that these feelings can propel us to use social media more. The problem is that greater engagement with social media can make us feel worse about ourselves and our lives, not better. While social media can seem like an easy shortcut to community, it is a double-edged sword. It can provide a wonderful means of connectedness but is not to be used in lieu of all other human relation. The online illusion of other people’s perceived popularity and busy social calendar can be dangerous when it comes to FoMO, sometimes further isolating us, and prompting negative self-comparison. Additionally, among the selected relationship highlights that couples tend to post to social media are their extravagant vacations or lavish dates.
How does FOMO affect your health?
This can mean checking up on what others are doing constantly, or an overview of 15 popular coding games for adults compulsively reaching out to maintain connection. If you are booking a vacation simply so you can upload photos to your social media account, you may be going on vacation for the wrong reasons. You may spend the whole time trying to get the ‘perfect’ photo to show your followers without really appreciating where you are. People tend to post about their best moments and accomplishments, and they often avoid sharing their struggles or challenges. This can lead us to believe that other people’s relationships are perfect, when in reality, all relationships have their ups and downs. Additionally, individuals may come to rely on likes and comments from others to feel good about themselves and their relationships.
- This can create a fear of being judged or rejected if they do not get enough positive feedback.
- Platforms like Facebook and Instagram can create an environment where couples feel obligated to showcase their love in particular ways, like posting extravagant date nights or lavish vacations.
- Too much social media use can be a symptom or a cause of an inactive lifestyle, which can lead to obesity and the many health problems that go along with it.
- Remind yourself, as often as you need to, that social media posts aren’t honest reflections of real lives.
- Research shows that a fear of missing out can stem from unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life and that these feelings can propel us to use social media more.
Constant exposure to relationship updates
Or you could feel overwhelmed and not know where to even begin when it comes to combating FOMO. Your friend that’s always sharing pictures of trips to exotic, tropical locations doesn’t post about their mounting credit card debt from all this travel. Different preventive cryptocurrency trading 2021 or relief measures might work better for different people. That said, some people might be more likely than others to feel FOMO’s pull. While the term FOMO is often used by younger groups of people, anyone can get FOMO regardless of their age.
Overcoming FOMO for more Satisfying Relationships
When experiencing FOMO, we may move at a faster pace than we really need to, and this may not always benefit us. It might be helpful to practice taking your time with activities to allow yourself to bottom up mergesort github appreciate the experience. Instead, you can try following realistic people and accounts who spread positivity and uplifting messages. Essentially, try to find people or accounts that make you feel good about yourself.
Health Categories to Explore
With the prevalence of social media, individuals are constantly exposed to carefully curated glimpses of others’ lives, often highlighting the positive aspects of their relationships. This exposure can exacerbate FOMO, promote unrealistic comparisons, and intensify feelings of inadequacy, leading to dissatisfaction with one’s own relationship. One study of young adults in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that the more time they spent on social media, the more likely they were to have symptoms of anxiety.
While social media likely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, how we use it and how often we use it certainly has a direct impact on our ability to experience FOMO. While some might interpret FOMO to be a motivating psychological force, research has generally found FOMO to have a negative impact on both mood and life satisfaction. It also has been identified as a precursor to what researchers call “problematic smartphone use.” Gratitude can be a powerful way to alleviate feelings of depression and anxiety. Because you feel better about the good things in your life, you are also less tempted to go down the rabbit hole of social networking and FOMO. If doing a complete digital detox isn’t possible, consider limiting your use of certain social media apps that make you feel as if you are missing out.
FOMO itself is a relatively new concept, and it’s not recognized as a mental health condition. But it’s related to anxiety and depression, which can reach the level of mental disorder, depending on how severe the symptoms are. It’s hard to untangle the effects of FOMO from the effects of too much social media use. The internet and social media certainly provide tons of options in various areas – whether it’s about things to do, or buy, or people to date.
