This article discusses the concept of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) on social media and its harmful effects on mental and social well-being. It also suggests alternative means of overcoming this addiction.
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2COMMUNICATION FOMO is one of the major concepts that are arising in the modern day scenario. Many of the individuals, particularly the teenagers and the adults are getting this FOMO syndrome. They suffer a huge trauma and a feeling of being lost in the social world. FOMO is mainly caused due to the large-scale use of the social media like the twitter, facebook, Instagram and many other such social networking sites(Abel, Buff & Burr, 2016).This topic has been selected for being researched so that I can be able to overcome the problem of addiction. Some of the objectives that I have set for myself before researching this topic are- To overcome the social network addiction. To find out alternative means of overcoming this FOMO problem This research has really been very helpful to me. It has been seen that social media sites like the facebook, twitter, Instagram and many other such platforms is becoming an inseparable part of the life of so many individuals. In particular, the school and college students are finding it impossible to spend even a single day without sneaking into the newsfeeds, messages or various other kinds of notification that they are receiving in their Facebook or Instagram profile. So, this is like a drug that is getting within the nerves of these individuals and they are really finding it very tough to come out from this addiction(Hill, Betts & Gardner, 2015). The other most alarming ill effects of this FOMO syndrome is suffering from the feeling of being lost or missed out by seeing others at a particular position that they themselves cannot teach. In other words, many of the school students or the adolescents are following many celebrities online and are getting jealousy seeing their ways of living.They want to imitate it and attain the same(Oberst et al., 2017). However, this is not really possible to get that same rich and glamorous life that is being led by the celebrities. So, this often puts unnecessary feelings of
3COMMUNICATION depression and this FOMO (the feeling of missed out) feeling on the individuals. This, in turn, has many harmful effects on the metal and the physical health of the individuals. They often start showing signs like social anxiety, inferiority feelings, lack of self-confidence and also a lack of self-esteem. They feel that they are not good enough and thus hate themselves a great deal. They also become very unsocial. They suffer a feeling of inferiority complex. They feel that they are being deprived of something that is available to many others.This also creates a huge mood sling among these individuals(Blackwell et al., 2017). Overall FOMO creates a very harmful effect on the mental and social well being of the individuals. In order to overcome these ill effects, the victims must start taking up challenges that will ask them to stay away from the usage of the social media. This might be tough initially but with proper guidance, the students can actually accomplish the challenge. This will be for their own good. They will have alternative sources like books, socializing with friends and family. They will get a life outside the social network sites. They will be able to socialize and have a fresh mind.
4COMMUNICATION References and Bibliography Abel, J. P., Buff, C. L., & Burr, S. A. (2016). Social media and the fear of missing out: Scale development and assessment.Journal of Business & Economics Research (Online), 14(1), 33. Alt, D. (2015). College students’ academic motivation, media engagement and fear of missing out.Computers in Human Behavior,49, 111-119. Blackwell, D., Leaman, C., Tramposch, R., Osborne, C., & Liss, M. (2017). Extraversion, neuroticism, attachment style and fear of missing out as predictors of social media use and addiction.Personality and Individual Differences,116, 69-72. Hill, R., Betts, L. R., & Gardner, S. E. (2015). Older adults’ experiences and perceptions of digital technology:(Dis) empowerment, wellbeing, and inclusion.Computers in Human Behavior,48, 415-423. Oberst, U., Wegmann, E., Stodt, B., Brand, M., & Chamarro, A. (2017). Negative consequences from heavy social networking in adolescents: The mediating role of fear of missing out. Journal of adolescence,55, 51-60.