Here is what you should know about the history of FOMO, what research says, how to recognize it in your life, and how to manage FOMO to keep it from negatively affecting your happiness. In many ways, modern day FOMO is similar to the long-time phenomenon known as “Keeping up with the Joneses” — the pressure of having to meet or exceed your neighbor’s social status, wealth and popularity. FOMO isn’t entirely dependent on social media (though, social media is perhaps FOMO’s biggest culprit). You’re late-night scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, and suddenly, you stumble on a series of photos or videos of your friends or family having fun without you. Focusing on long-term investments and value is one way to manage FOMO.
- While social media can seem like an easy shortcut to community, it is a double-edged sword.
- You can do this by taking inventory of your values by way of doing a value-based assessment.
- As individuals, we’re entitled to live different yet fulfilling lives without measuring ourselves against the difference around us.
- In this way, you can positively use FOMO by providing so much valuable content that people will be reluctant to miss out on any of it.
- With social media, it’s becoming normal to force oneself to fit in, while there are campaigns to stand out.
Research shows that a fear of missing out can stem from unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life and that these feelings can propel us into greater social media usage. 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. FOMO is a legitimate psychological phenomenon that can affect people’s lives. If you’re struggling with FOMO, don’t be afraid to seek help from professionals.
FOMO often depicts over-dependence on popular culture and mirroring it as much as possible. It also suggests a tendency to keep up and close with toxic positivity on social media. We’ve been feeling the FOMO for longer than the concept becoming official. Financial, physical, emotional, psychological, time, space, and many other forms of restraint can keep you from fully indulging in something that is out of your reach. This can, however, sometimes simply boil down to interest, or rather the lack of it.
FOMO primarily triggers traders who wish to profit from current opportunities. However, those who purchase coins or tokens and lock them up are more resistant. They are happy to miss out on a potentially profitable opportunity that might negatively affect their overall strategy. While FOMO is a well-known term in the crypto industry, it is worth noting that it has its counterpart, the Joy Of Missing Out (JOMO).
Example FOMO Marketing Campaign
JOMO comes from a belief that a project or situation is misleading, and missing out is a far better alternative. It usually arises when an individual notices peers are not posting on social media as they how to sell your bitcoin from wallet exodus buy bitcoin to transfer typically would, sparking a sort of paranoia that the radio silence is a sign of some hidden social scene. FoMO refers to something tangible — seeing a post on social media and wishing you were there.
Some examples of FOMO in marketing include limited-time offers, social media influencers, and creating a sense of urgency by saying that there are only a limited number of products available. It’s a term coined in the early 2000s to describe people’s anxiety and worry when they think they’re missing out on something. FOMO can be caused by several things, including social media, advertising, and peer pressure, negatively affecting their life. Stemming from social anxiety, FOMO represents the negative feeling you get when you’re convinced you’re missing out on a great experience—as made evident from friends who are actually experiencing it. The acronym is often used online to help describe (and even intensify) the attraction of doing certain things or being at certain events, which are typically shared on social media.
How FOMO Is Used
Interestingly, however, FOMO acts as a mechanism that triggers higher social networking usage. “What we have to do is set appropriate limits and do a value-based assessment of our goals and what helps us to achieve those goals, including our use of social media,” says Dr. Sullivan. As a concept, FOMO refers to the fear and anxiety that traders sometimes feel when they believe they are the only ones missing out on a potential trade. When fear and anxiety take over, traders’ judgment can become clouded, which leads to them making rash decisions.
While multiple factors likely play a role, the research also found that social media use and «problematic» smartphone usage were linked with a greater experience of FOMO. Smartphone usage was related to fears of negative and even positive evaluations by others as well as linked to negative effects on mood. Social media creates a platform for bragging; it is where things, events, and even happiness itself seems to be in competition at times. People are comparing their best, picture-perfect experiences, which may lead you to wonder what you are lacking.
When everyone was quarantining during the pandemic’s infancy, the ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ got even louder. You may find yourself seeking a greater connection when you are feeling depressed or anxious, and this is healthy. Feelings of loneliness or exclusion are actually our brain’s way of telling us that we want to seek out greater connections with others and increase our sense of belonging.
It can be motivating when it’s towards something personally crucial. For instance, if you’re a passionate (but inexperienced) actor, you may want to keep up with TikTok to both up your acting skills and grow your audience. Before you know it, you may become a star, and based on how good you are, your acting streak on TikTok can make for a portfolio. However, in the face of constant media consumption, we tend to obsessively align with popular culture and stay at the peak of everything new and happening. This way, we may end up forcing ourselves to like or even love something that doesn’t truly resonate with and interest us. Well, it’s a terrible feeling despite the acronym’s hype and popularity.
What is FOMO, and does it really work?
One is the use of “limited time offers.” Marketers will often make people think that if they don’t buy something right now, they’ll miss out on the chance to get it. They showcase the best aspects of life on social media and make people feel they’re missing out if they don’t buy what they’re selling. FOMO became a viral “psychological” phenomenon on the internet when Zuckerberg launched Facebook months after McGinnis built the foundation of FOMO. With a social network at hand, it became easier to view and compare lifestyles. Conclusively, FOMO has its roots at the beginning of mass social media consumption.
And in particular, anxiety disorder and depression both lend themselves to experiencing FOMO more frequently and with longer lasting effects. Marketers use FOMO to influence buyers into making impulse purchases. They showcase the best aspects of life on social media and make people feel like they’re missing out if they don’t buy what they’re selling. This can be a very effective tool, as it can cause people to make decisions they may not have otherwise made.
It affects their emotions and causes them to react instead of assessing the situation. Both of these examples use FOMO to get people to buy things they may not otherwise purchase. This can be harmful to people’s finances and can lead to them buying things they don’t need. Avoid marketing cliches that make people want to leave your website, unfollow, or unfriend you, and give high-quality free content that users will genuinely not want to miss out on. Considering the amount of damage this romanticized idealogy of living in constant comparison could bring, it is crucial to use FOMO consciously and with empathy and kindness at heart.
A 2017 study correlated more daily social media use with a higher chance of having an anxiety disorder. While a 2022 study suggests depressive and anxious symptoms worsen the longer we spend how to recover crypto sent to wrong address on social media. 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.
To their friends and followers, however, they appear to be constantly having the time of their lives. This distorted interpretation is what conjures up feelings of FOMO. During such times, people start making decisions without thinking them through to feel included. When prices suddenly start rising, traders flood the market as they anticipate further price appreciation. In reality, those who enter the market in reaction to such moves usually enter too late.
If you scroll social media and feel left out, chances are you’ve experienced some level of FOMO. Since then, the FOMO acronym has taken off and can be found used almost everywhere online. Even though the feeling is very real, its use in tweets, Instagram captions, Facebook status updates and even blog posts is often done in a sarcastic way what is bitcoin mining and how does it work for comedic effect. In this first example of two friends messaging each other, the first friend appears to be at an event and decides to message another friend who’s not at the event about the opportunity to enjoy free food. The friend who isn’t at the event experiences FOMO, just from being made aware of what was going on at the event.
