Do you have FOMO ?

If you have a constant and desperate urge to check your blackberry messenger or update your social media accounts with your latest updates at a frequency, which is abnormally high, then you are suffering from an ailment called the FOMO- fear of missing out.

Social outcasts or people who are psychologically always hungry for attention make a perfect match for this ailment. And it’s more than just a social disorder; it’s a disorder, which on extreme levels could be harmful for one’s mental wellbeing. Connection is all people need. Even the best of media advertisement campaigns would use words like, “stay ahead” or “stay connected”. So, advertisers use this against you, knowing that it affects you mentally.

FOMO is a social ailment, where you feel that if you are not out there, virtually or on the phone, you are missing out on something important. That something important may not be anything, could be as small as checking which parties have your friends attended this weekend or as big as knowing who is getting married next. FOMO makes you an addict to gossip, literally any kind of information, which gives you easy access you put you out there.

Security is something which is required in terms of both,  socially and mentally. Some people are not secure in their personal lives due some past bad experiences. They naturally develop an urge to overcome that by making sure that their public perception is always in check. They just want to know and absorb everything on their newsfeed. They feel that their absence could result in some damage and this damage could be detrimental to their social image indirectly.

Emotions of jealousy and competiveness is a part of basic human nature, but it gets enhanced when one has the mode through which comparison becomes easy. Updating statuses, doing check in, changing pictures and posting daily updates on one’s whereabouts gives the necessary fodder and people happily feed on it. Technology adds the fuel to the fire. If one is slogging their ass at work and still finding their soul mate on Tinder, while on the other hand, one’s friend is vacationing with her boyfriend in Hawaii, it is quite natural that one would want to kill themselves. Although, one makes comparisons in their daily life, but the constant nudging one gets from social media can turn one into a real hater.

People who are socially secure and self-confident do not generally suffer from FOMO. Socially secure people do not update and post stuff on a regular basis. Not that people who update posts online are socially insecure, but attention seekers constantly require activities to make sure that their presence is not forgotten. People who are secure in their personal life including their social life, are quite relaxed in daily life and don’t require others to know everything about them. They maintain a low profile socially and remain content with their life in a bubble. That bubble is satisfactory for them, without having an urge to be everywhere or do everything.

If you find peace with what you have, life becomes simpler. Power and greed to achieve more and more should be discouraged. To find peace, some people do yoga and meditation, some go for a vacation and some opt for drugs. The end result is to find inner peace, depends on  how one achieves it. An escape from the routine gives one some time off to take an insight into their life.

Get inspired from the successful, learn from the creators, teach the unprivileged, romance like a lovebird and value your loved ones.

You wont regret anything once your mind is at peace. FOMO will disappear when you know you are doing the best you can with your life and any comparison with anyone means you don’t value yourself enough.