The Joy Of Missing Out

The digital revolution has opened up many doors for us, and plenty of them have been positive. For example, I now work from home when in the past I wouldn't have been able to. With the creation of the internet and devices like smartphones, we literally have the world at our fingertips - so why does it also feels like we have the world on our shoulders? Digital platforms such as social media has allowed us to reconnect and stay in contact with friends and loved ones in what feels like a more intimate fashion that ever before. It has also bombarded us with perfect images of other peoples curated worlds which can sometimes feel overwhelming and create insecurity - even if deep down we know many of these images are filtered to the max and edited beyond their original composition. I mean, how many times have we met someone in person that we have mainly been following on the internet and realised they don’t have the airbrushed perfect skin or are much older than we have been led to believe?

FOMO - Fear of Missing Out 

Tap into any of your social media apps and within a few minutes it’s very easy to fall down into the rabbit hole of despair - everyone is either at an amazing party, on the beach or spending a huge chunk of money on items you have been lusting after for years. How can this be? How does everyone seem so...ahead of you all of a sudden? Well, I am happy to say that you aren’t alone in suffering from FOMO. In fact, it’s more common than you think especially with the younger generation.  A recent survey of 18 -25 years olds revealed that looking at sites such as Instagram, can make the suffer from FOMO - 50 percent in fact, with a further 46 percent saying social media makes them wish they could travel more and said it made them feel their own lives are unexciting. While 43 percent said they haven’t achieved as much as their peers.

JOMO - Joy Of Missing Out 

Ever log into social media in a happy mood to find it deflated within a few minutes of scrolling? This isn’t an isolated feeling, in fact there is a whole movement around stepping away from the screen, ceasing the scrolling and not attending events to impress your digital audience. JOMO - or the joy of missing out is basically the opposite of FOMO. It’s taking the time to enjoy just being you, or being you with other people away from the digital noise. It's certainly growing in popularity with companies like giffgaff making a JOMO generator to offer hints and tips on how to be more JOMO and sites such as experience JOMO being set up to actively encourage people to engage in this exercise. 

I have to admit I've been making a conscious effort to get away from technology on a regular basis and it does make me feel better when I do. The world isn't going to end if you leave your phone at home, so go out for a walk, get away from the technology and breathe in the fresh air. You will feel better for it.

So what about you? What are your experiences with social media, your phone and the impact that it has? Comment below but make sure this is after a period of digital detoxing so you get your JOMO time in!