FOMO Vs. See: Why “getting lost” will benefit mental well-being

In passing through Social networks You can see various photos of friends at the ocean, at a bar in Europe, at a mega party, or doing extreme sports. Being outside of those “happy” conditions can create an aftertaste Bitterness And a thought: “They are having fun without meI’m ‘missing it’.”

This fear is given a name FOMO. The acronym FOMO comes from the English expression Fear of missing out (“fear of missing” in Spanish). This fear of “being left out” can be related to going out or social events, Job opportunities, relationships Or questions of life in general.

for Cynthia Zaytz, (MN 60105), chief of psychology at Caseros Model Sanatorium, “It’s something I see a lot in my patients. He Danger Not uploading photos or revealing where they are. There is much travel on the subject. Always around economic figures Like a yacht, a photo of a passage, among others. The person who sees it begins Rethink your life And what he’s doing with it is unlike the others,” he reflected Infobay On a recent note.

Bachelor in Psychology Juan Carlos PicassoDirector of the Life Center Comprehensive Wellness Center, an expert in family psychology and preventive medicine, explained Information: “Look Freedom to enjoy What we do without being aware of what other people are doing at every moment and that in turn responds to another phenomenon, FOMO, which is the fear of missing something, of being out of touch, of not being happy.”

for its part, Marcelo R. SebarioThe psychologist, with a Master in Family Therapy from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Master in Psychoimmunoendocrinology from the Favlor University, explained Infobay: “That struggle It happens because a person sees a scene of a friend or group of friends’ activities, etc., and thinks they should have been there and weren’t, or worse, to imagine that he was excluded and not invited, or ‘what am I doing here in my room, looking at my cell phone’ or ‘studying’ or ‘playing with my cat’, while others People having fun drinking beer, dancing and laughing in group. This disorder About two-thirds of all social media users in the world suffer from it and that’s it Addiction Being aware and dependent on the actions of others.

But new research now suggests that it is possible Enjoy “something to lose”. For the better mental health This year, experts recommend recreating those feelings of FOMO and trying to switch instead Jomo: The joy of missing something. What does that mean? It is also an acronym: Joy of missing outwhich means “the joy of missing things,” and invites you to live a variety of experiences. choose It will be obtained or if you really want to share it on networks.

“FOMO existed before social mediaBut it was not as important a part of our experience,” he said Chris Berry, professor of psychology at Washington State University. With the advent of social networks, it became possible to see the events of everyone’s life and thus, experts say, the chances of comparing oneself with others all the time and experiencing perhaps not pleasant emotions have increased.

“It is too toxic to live on networks and appearances. There is a reality, people want to belong, but it’s important that they don’t forget what’s good for everyone when they want to belong,” Zaytz stressed.

Research shows that high levels FOMO It is associated with Low self-esteem, insomnia, low life satisfaction and more loneliness.

According to another study, the Instructions Frequent applications involve frequently changing tasks, which affects performance. “This affects attention span; “Disrupts work and general productivity,” the study highlights.

According to Seberio, “FOMO produces high levels worrywith the result Stress And the stress created by trying to be in multiple places at once and not miss anything. This often creates an affinity for cell phones Addiction, By being permanently aware of the images and the immediate circle, which produces symptoms Headache, palpitationsSometimes Sweat, as part of an anxiety disorder. symptoms of Insomnia, worry, Warning hyper alert and mental ruminations, As a way of thinking and rethinking the actions of others. Furthermore, the feelings of Loneliness And Low self-esteem In the projection that is applied to the environment when exclusion is felt.”

It also affects food. “The feelings of Jealousy And social exclusion Related to bad eating habits. In addition, FOMO leads to higher usage of social networks by promoting them Sedentary lifestyle which influences the epidemic Obesity in young adults,” the research states.

For a few hours on October 4, 2021, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp They stopped working. Noticing this, scientists decided to investigate how this phenomenon affected users. In two days after the blackout Tali gazetteTal Itan, an associate professor of information science at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and his graduate student recruited 571 adults to answer a questionnaire assessing their feelings about the experience.

At first, researchers hoped to detect emotions Stress and FOMO, which in fact they are found in abundance. But unexpectedly, in the optional open-ended questions, many people wrote about this Relief and joy A 2023 study looked at how they felt about not being connected to social media and what was happening to others.

“Many people actually They enjoyed it And they found themselves talking to their partners, meeting their friends and Doing things, cooking, playing games” Gazit said.

Social connection is healthy and social media, despite its many flaws and weaknesses, provides a means of building relationships. Jomo isn’t about completely avoiding connections or isolating yourself from others, Berry said. Instead, he proposes deliberately taking periods of disconnection to recharge. Recommendations:

– Make a regular plan to disconnect. The Gazette found that the number of people who deliberately stayed away from social media was higher Psychological well-being Compared to those who didn’t do it themselves, for example when asked to put their phone away in class.

– Use defensive strategies: For example, turning off notifications, setting limits on certain apps or turning off your device at night, Barry recommends.

– Practice mindfulness or total attention: “The only thing this therapy does is exercise self-awareness and let go of all the things that don’t add up. And in this way, it will be possible to overcome more and more the idea that if I don’t go to a fashionable place, I don’t have a photo to upload, I don’t leave anything,” explained Zaiatz.

Mindfulness is a therapy where one deliberately focuses attention present momenta active modeattempt Don’t judge or value What you feel or experience.

– Use social networks in moderation: Cultivating JOMO doesn’t mean completely disconnecting from other people’s lives, but being more aware of how social media is used and “Think about feelings Consider what you feel when viewing your content and what is beneficial or not,” said Barry.

“Most of the time we are too busy with other people’s lives,” Gazitt said, proposing to make a conscious effort to set aside time to “take care of our own existence.”

– Make more contact with the real world And a small one with a virtual world. Conduct group activities, without resorting to virtuality.

– Put yourself first. Sabero explained: “It’s important to understand that you can’t be in everything. Value yourself, exercise to strengthen self-esteem. Try to collect intrusive thoughts and destroy them. Think about the present and don’t focus on the future or what other people are going to do.

– Organize activities with friends: It is important to recapture and value the experience of spending time chatting or playing in person. In this way, it will be possible to observe that living relationships have a different rhythm than the pace of everything that happens on networks.

– Remember that everyone misses something: The world is so vast, rich and diverse that a person can experience it in his lifetime. “I always tell people that they have to get over this feeling that their Life is boring By publication of the individual. You have to go to a place because you really want to go, not because it’s trendy on social networks; I want to buy something because I like it, not because everyone on their Instagram is using it. The important thing is not to get involved in a world of lies,” Zaytz concluded.

– Identify prioritiesto be Selective with social events and Learn to say “no”.There are other ways to avoid FOMO syndrome and Live a fuller and more conscious life.

According to Picasso: “A proper mental health It is expressed in people who have developed the ability to procrastinate or Leave the reward When it affects your health. He Self control And Own domain They are tools that protect the health of mind and body given the unity and close relationship that exists between the two.

And he added: “How to get more vitality in our life? Although there is no formula for being more energetic, I can say that the best decisions in life are made. Conviction And they very rarely have consensus. Conviction occurs in people who understand who they are, They value who they are and have the ability to be part of a group without abandoning them Identity, Values ​​and Beliefs. This will allow you to enjoy every moment of what you do without worrying about others.

Appreciating and enjoying the joy of living in the present, whether with a loved one or alone, without thinking about what others might do, ultimately, Live independently.