Stop FOMOing, just JOMO!

Research on JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) has only recently emerged and focuses on the impact of social media.

However, everyone can experience JOMO in their lives by choosing when we want to skip. JOMO can make us feel lighter because it helps us not care too much about other people.

Social media exacerbates FOMO

“JOMO makes us not only not afraid of missing something important, but actually enjoy the experience,” explains Tali Gazit, associate professor of information science at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.

We are present here and now, enjoying what we are doing right now without looking left, looking right and feeling jealous or worried about missing out on something."

The fear of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a social fear. Humans have had this problem since the realization of missed opportunities, unfulfilled joys, and the feeling of having to keep up with peers.

However, the rise of social media has brought FOMO into everyday consciousness and conversation.

FOMO existed before social media, but it wasn't a prominent part of our experience then, says Chris Barry, a psychology professor at Washington State University.

With the advent of social media, we are constantly seeing the highlights of other people’s lives – and starting to compare ourselves. Research shows that high levels of FOMO are associated with low self-esteem, lower life satisfaction, and more loneliness.

"We come into contact with many people whose stories we don't really know, but everything looks wonderful in the life experience of others"

Tali Gazit, associate professor of information science at Bar-Ilan University, Israel

The Happiness of Disconnection

On October 4, 2021, for a few hours, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp went down, disrupting the lives of billions of people. But it was also a rare moment when people felt the joy of liberation.

The hiatus serves as a natural, accidental experiment into how we feel when we’re away from social media. Most studies have relied on asking people to cut back on their smartphone and computer use.

Gazit said the outage was frustrating for users, but researchers interested in human behavior saw it as a gift.

Two days after the participants stopped using the media, Gazit and colleagues asked 571 adults to fill out a questionnaire assessing their feelings about the experience.

Initially, the researchers expected to see results reporting feelings of stress and FOMO, which they had heard a lot about. FOMO was significantly correlated with people's feelings of stress and their social media use.

Surprisingly, many people shared feelings of relief and joy at not being connected to social media or keeping up with what others were doing. Some even directly mentioned JOMO, which has been around in the community but has not been thoroughly researched until recently.

"Most people really enjoy and concentrate on tasks like talking to partners, friends and doing things like cooking, playing sports, " said Associate Professor Gazit.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dung-fomo-nua-hay-jomo-di-20240221163829331.htm