The fear of missing out is not a new concept and it impacts all age groups, however social media is providing a platform that is heightening the issue amongst teenagers and in turn, leading to increased anxiety and depression.
An addiction is defined as, ‘a physical or psychological need for a habit-forming substance or activity’. The need to look at your phone or computer and check what’s happening online can become an addiction which causes damage that goes unnoticed.
In a world of technology, you sometimes don’t realise how much social media controls you – in your free time do you scroll through Facebook or go outside to go for a walk? Do you find yourself going straight to your phone when sitting alone or waiting for someone because you don’t want to look like you have nothing to do? Are you ever in a conversation with someone and see an ‘important’ notification and switch focus, not realising the negative impact you have had on the person you were talking to?
The comments or messages we get via social media can be interpreted in various ways due to the lack of body language and basic communication skills that are absent when we’re hidden behind a screen. Life begins to become a little more unrealistic every day, and our expectations of ourselves and others can change negatively.
We all have our ups and downs but people don’t realise how depressed or anxious they get when looking at their phones. What drives people these days to constantly need to be on their phones is boredom and the fear of missing out!
Personal experience of my 19 year old daughter:
Throughout my high college years a lot of things evolved from social media and affected how I was living. Turning up to college to see my group of friends with their faces glued to their phone screens, lifting only for a second to say hi then straight back down, was normal. We were communicating via text more than talking to each other even though we were standing right next to one another.
The first thing I did when I woke was scroll through Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. This continued when I was walking from the car, with a group of friends or even on the toilet! I didn’t realise the effects of what I was doing from living my life through a screen. My mood changed depending on how many ‘likes’ I got, if my friends did something without me or if I wanted to look like a totally photo-shopped model; it all dramatically impacted on my self-esteem.
My parents were always there to support my mixed emotions that came with the new age of social media but I couldn’t help but think they didn’t truly understand its importance and how could they as they didn’t grow up with it in their lives – how wrong I was! After realising the negative impact it was having on me and the effect on not only my life but family and friends around me, (mum’s constant reminders eventually made sense), I decided it was time to make a change.
I started by going one day without refreshing my Instagram page and then two, which at first was crazy as I would literally then sit there and scroll through 48 hours worth of photos to make sure I hadn’t missed out on anything! I stuck with it though and started feeling happier within myself. My friends also noticed which led to all of us making changes and talking less via text.
As with anything, change won’t happen overnight but the small changes I made a few years ago have had a great impact on my life. Once I overcame FOMO and the addiction to my phone, my life looked a whole lot brighter and I was able to start thinking logically and creatively about things, focus on what made me happy, create relationships and have the time to smile. It is a funny concept that through the fear of missing out we miss out on the most important thing in life … LIVING.
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