Why FOMO Needn't Bother You Anymore!

Does scrolling through your social media feed fill you with the fear of missing out? Simran Ahuja helps put things into perspective with a few simple questions

- Simran Ahuja

You’re mindlessly thumbing through Facebook when you see the picture of a friend on vacation. There she is, living it up and having adventures. Suddenly, the lunch you packed so virtuously in the morning loses all taste and the job you take so much pride in seems to feel like a prison. Your life did not radically change in the last few seconds, but your perspective totally did.

This is the toxic effect of FOMO, or the fear of missing out. It refers to the type of anxiety fostered by social media, which can sometimes make it seem like a parade of exciting events is taking place in the lives of your friends. Twenty-six-year old content writer Priyanka Yadav says, “I had this almost obsessive need to know what was happening in my friends’ lives. Even if I took my phone out for something related to work, every15 minutes my thumb would eventually tap on Facebook or Instagram.”