FoMO in Teens Lifes

Image from Pinterest

FoMO or what we often hear as fear of missing out, was a phenomenon that was first discovered by Dr. Dan Herman, and then the term got popularized by Patrick J. McGinnis while he was writing for the harbus.

Talking about FoMO, I’m sure every one of us has or had experienced this phenomenon. It’s a feel where you worry about missing something that people do. Like when you worry about missing a party that your friends are coming to.

FoMO is a very popular and common thing to feel about, especially in the world of teenagers. To be clear, theres no exception, all ages could experience FoMO. But let’s talk about teenagers. Teenagers are the most prone to get affected by any and every kinds of things

Any other age could experience this but why is it common in teenagers? Why they tend to easily get affected?

Well first of because of the social pressure. Young brains (teenager brains) are very vulnerable to social influence because they are going through higher rates of developmental changes than other demographics. The prefrontal cortex in the brain is still growing, this region controls decision making. This is why teens are known to engage more to risky behaviours because they do not always understand the consequences of their actions.

Second, social media. Social media is such an impact not only to teens but everyone and every age, we could say it’s the main trigger knowing that it is connected to the previous point. Social media creates an illusion of a perfect life, because most people only show their best moments on social media. Teens often compare themselves to the life of social media, because in it there’s full of idealized version of people’s lives. Making it the main trigger of FoMO.

But what is the impact on teens lives?

It does not sound so bad, because it’s a common thing. But the impact on teenagers lives is pretty huge.

First, it can cause social anxiety because it can make teens feel left out. And even embarrassed of feeling left out.

Second, it can cause teens to feel a dissatisfaction in life. Because when they see that other people have better lives than them, they will feel less satisfied with their lives.

Next, lower self-esteem. FoMO can make teens feel less than their peers which can lead to low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is a condition where someone lack of confidence about who they are and what they can do.

All of those three can lead to feeling unloved, restless, feeling uneasy, and lots of negative emotions. Which is really dangerous for teenagers mental health.

To avoid FoMO, there is a lot of effective method.

First of which is mindfulness or meditation. Mindfulness has a lot of positive impacts on our lives including reducing anxiety. It teaches you to be present in the moment and gives you time to observe your mind.

Dedicate your time to practice on things you love. Instead of stressing over not following trends, try doing something that genuinely makes you happy. Like your hobbies. It’s actually a way to make yourself busy but by doing things you love. This will make you feel happier.

If the FoMO is coming off from seeing someone’s social media post, get off your social media for a while. Social media is such a major source of FoMO so please take a break from it for a while.

To lessen your worry about missing something in life, don’t forget to connect with people you love in real life. Being around people you love will make you feel fulfilled and slowly forget about missing things in life.

There’s a lot of other way to avoid FoMO for teenagers. For me these are the most effective ones.

Please be happy. FoMO is a normal feeling but don’t ever let it consume your life and thoughts. Remember you don’t have to experience everything and it’s totally okay to miss out on things. Hmm… I’ve talked a lot about FoMO, I guess I should talk about JoMO next?