Joy of Missing Out is the emotional food for FOMO!

According to the world of psychology, 2020 is the year of “JOMO” the “joy of missing out”. Research is now showing huge shifts in how we understand and react to emotional states that social media breeds in us.

To appreciate Joy of Missing Out you first need to understand the contrast, the “fear of missing out” FOMO and how this can control our lives.

 Do you find yourself scrolling through news feeds, inundated with status updates, memes, political puns, photos, and the latest breaking news and find you spend more and more time fascinated by what you view on social media? …… Yes? Well, welcome to FOMO!

 We have become a nation of “likers” and “smiley faces”, recent studies have shown apparently the reason for this is that having the power to “like” simulates the firing of dopamine in our brains, we quickly learn that the likes, the instant gratification and attention makes us feel good and we therefore keep going back for more.

 The average person spends around 2 hours 16 mins a day (probably more during a lockdown!) scrolling through news feeds and posts for fear of missing out on the latest knowledge, trend, or news.

 Another driver of FOMO is the social pressure to look a certain way, to wear the right thing or be at the right place with the right people. We often feel obligated to attend certain events for work, for family and for friends.

 This pressure from society combined with FOMO can wear us down and can decrease our happiness significantly without us even knowing.

 JOMO is the emotional food for FOMO. Essentially it is about being present and being content with where you are at in life. You do not need to compare your life to anyone else, instead practice tuning out the background noise of others expectations and work on learning to let go of worrying that you are doing something wrong.  

 JOMO encourages us to take a step back from the demands that others and life put on us and appreciate the simple things like human connections, allowing us to practice saying “no,” and giving ourselves breaks away from technology, without feeling guilty. 

 A great book to help you practise being mindful is The Tao of Pooh. The author Benjamin Hoff uses the fictional characters and stories of AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh to explain the basic principles of philosophical Taoism. This book was the New York Times bestseller for 49 weeks, so don’t just take my word for it.

 You can buy this book pretty much anywhere, but I have added a link below for your ease should you wish to read it. 

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Enjoy Being You!