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Have you ever flipped through the social media feed and thought that everyone, absolutely all friends and acquaintances lead a much more interesting life than yourself? For me, yes, regularly. Lost Profit Syndrome – FOMO – I diagnosed myself as soon as I heard about this phenomenon. Recently it turned out that other “illnesses” appeared in the world: FOGO, JOMO and others. Let’s try to figure out what it is.
Good old FOMO
In fact, FOMO (Fear of missing out) – both the term and the phenomenon itself – is far from new: for the first time this concept was used by entrepreneur and author Patrick McGinnis back in 2004, and in 2013 the word was included in the Oxford English Dictionary.
There are a lot of questions about the translation of this concept into Russian: firstly, F in the English name is fear, fear; secondly, we are, of course, talking about “opportunities”, and not about “benefit”.
Most likely, you have come across a lot of articles about what FOSS is and how to determine if you are susceptible to it, so we will limit ourselves to a short list of symptoms. You, like more than half of humanity, at least sometimes show signs of missed profit syndrome if you:
- afraid to miss some important (interesting) events;
- you think that everyone except you lives a busy life, goes to cool parties, has already watched this performance, went on vacation this year – underline the necessary;
- obsessively update social media feeds and keep a close eye on the lives of your friends;
- strive to always be available for communication, do not miss the opportunity to socialize;
- get very upset if you find yourself excluded from the group (everyone went somewhere, but you were not invited);
- experience terrible discomfort when the smartphone is not at hand;
- You want to please people and get their approval.
Not everyone has the feeling that they missed something, resulting in severe anxiety.
On the one hand, it seems that this applies to most of us to one degree or another: whoever does not want to be liked by others, let him throw a smartphone at me first. On the other hand, not everyone has the feeling that they missed something, resulting in a strong anxiety – the constant companion of FOMO.
It arises for me every time when I can’t be among the first to visit a new restaurant, watch the “pilot” of the series that everyone is talking about, miss a new release of Dud or a new podcast. The list can be continued indefinitely. And so, by the way, it was, as far as I can remember: from high school so for sure. And staying in the city for the first weekend in June, I’m sure that absolutely all my friends are having more fun than me.
FOGO – a “pandemic gift”?
While some are upset that others are having a great time without them, others are desperately afraid of “going out.” Their lives are ruled by FOGO (Fear of going out) – the fear of going out somewhere.
Of course, the recluses existed until the spring of 2020. These include introverts, people with heightened social anxiety or social shyness, and the extreme case of Japanese hikikomori hermits who stay home for years. However, realizing that we can all be dangerous to each other, many began to avoid large crowds of people, and eventually any companies in principle.
In the old days, it would be appropriate to give expert advice on how to overcome this fear in yourself: whatever one may say, socialization is necessary for everyone, and isolation hits the psyche. But … perhaps they will not. Because in a world where not everyone wears masks and keeps their distance, fighting this newfangled syndrome can be more expensive.
Left alone at home, we got a chance to listen to ourselves and understand what we still want
In addition, some experts argue that FOGO is, in fact, good. During the pandemic, the burden of public expectations was removed from all of us, in a sense, and we, left alone at home, got a chance to listen to ourselves and understand what we still want. And at the same time, a weighty justification for his unwillingness to get out into the people.
Plus, in a world where hot meals are delivered right to your doorstep and work conferences can be attended from the comfort of your pajamas, every need to leave the house — especially when the virus is rampant — is accompanied by questions: is it worth it? Do I really need it? And the answer is not always yes.
JOMO: out of reach and happy
If for a person with missed profit syndrome to be without a smartphone, communication with friends and the ability to scroll through social networks is a nightmare, then people with JOMO (Joy of missing out) – the joy of missed opportunities – only enjoy it.
Yes, there are those among us too: they honestly arrange a “digital detox” for themselves, take a break from the abundance of information and feel freer, refusing offers and opportunities.
Are you happy that you no longer need to come up with a good enough reason to stay at home?
This term, by the way, is also far from new (back in 2015, Christina Cook wrote a book about it), but the events of the past year and a half have given many the opportunity to shamelessly indulge in this joy.
It is quite easy to “diagnose” this condition for yourself. Looking at the blank lines in your diary, do you feel relieved? Do you remember the last time you checked social media? Are you happy that you no longer need to come up with a good enough reason to stay at home?
If the answer is yes, then you are a JOMO person. And you can be congratulated on this.
… And everything-everything-everything
Here I would put an end to it, but the “newfangled” syndromes are not limited to this. There is also:
- BROMINE (Bros’ protect you from missing out) – when friends spare your feelings and, having fun without you the day before, do not post photos on social networks and do not discuss the party in the general chat;
- FOJI (Fear of joining in) – fear of joining something. Because of it, some, for example, do not register on social networks – it is not clear what to write there, how to respond to other people’s posts, and in general – what if someone “not the right one” wants to make friends?
- MOMO (Mystery of missing out) – when it seems to a person that the silence of friends on social networks means that they actually went somewhere without him.
It is possible that while I am typing, a journalist on the other side of the planet is happily publishing another term he has just invented. But, in fact, only FOMO needs close attention. To combat it, experts advise learning to listen to yourself and your true desires and distinguish them from those imposed by society. I guess that’s what I’ll do as soon as I check social media.