Fear of missing out (FOMO), the fear of missing out on something, is a fear that plagues many people and does not make you happier. Meanwhile, there is also a counterpart to this term, which is joy of missing out (JOMO). So what about this fear of missing out on something what impact does it have, and what can you do about it? You can read more in this blog article.
Impact of FOMO on daily life
The fear of missing something can incredibly affect how you feel and what you do on a daily basis. For example, people who suffer from this fear are on social media more often than those without it[1].
Anxiety also often arises from smartphone use itself, the need for gratification (need for satisfaction), inappropriate behavior in high school, being extroverted and a higher degree of neuroticism [2].
Also, Turkish research shows that people under the age of 29 suffer significantly more from this fear than older people. So it is something you can grow out of[3].
Unfortunately, everything that shows up on social media, which you may not have been a part of, can actually create more negative feelings[4].
In addition, it can also cause poorer school performance, fatigue (probably due to decreased sleep).
FOMO sleep
Because people who suffer from this anxiety also spend more time on social media, they also do so at night, also causing them to sleep less (source 1). When they then fall asleep, the negative emotions cause their sleep quality to be poorer (source 4).
FOMO autism
Almost everyone has some autistic trait, but when it becomes problematic it is still referred to as autism. The more you suffer from autistic traits, the more likely you will also suffer from the Fear of missing out. This is because the autistic traits can cause problems in maintaining relationships, making you more likely to experience problems such as not being invited to a party or the like.
If your social needs are not being met, it can cause you to look more inside yourself and seek external factors to compensate for yourself. This then specifically contributes to the development of FOMO.
This may therefore explain the increasing reduction in social behavior in people who suffer greatly from autism[5].
FOMO and adhd
If you suffer from adhd and impulsivity, there is a slight correlation with the onset of FOMO. So it slightly causes you to be more likely to suffer from the fear of missing out on something (source 3).
FOMO at work
If you don't suffer from the fear of missing something in a social leisure context, you may still suffer from the fear of missing something at work. Especially now that internal communication often goes digital as well and with apps on your phone (hello MSTeams), that can again cause you to not want to miss anything.
After all, you want to show your commitment to the company, and not miss opportunities that can help you advance your career and feel like you belong with your colleagues. That you are part of the team.
If you suffer from FOMO at work, it often causes you to check apps that are important for your work communication even outside of work hours. Especially if you are a bit more neurotic.
ICT for internal communication has both positive and negative effects if you have good communication with the company where you work.
The negative effects of improved connection to your work is that it can still cause more stress, but it does not contribute to burnout[6]. It is not for nothing that in Germany it has been made illegal for an employer to contact an employee outside working hours.
Transforming FOMO to JOMO
So FOMO is actually not helpful at all for your sleep and the like. So how do you transform it to Joy of Missing Out? How do you make sure you don't mind if you don't find out about something until later?
There are a few practical steps you can take.
Tip 1: Buy a focus box
Because social media and smartphone use can be the cause of FOMO and can make FOMO worse, you can put your smartphone in a focus box at night.
This is a box with a time slot on it. For example, you put your phone in that box at 10 p.m. for eight hours so you can take it out at six in the morning. Make sure you put the phone on silent, because you can't do anything with it at all while it's in that box.
That way you'll spend less time on social media and sleep better at night.
Do you use your phone as an alarm clock? Buy a real alarm clock if you don't actually want to look at your phone for the first hour after you get up either.
Tip 2: Engage in gratitude exercises
FOMO is very much about what you don't have and don't experience. This allows you to forget what you do have and all that you do experience. By writing down daily in a notebook or something similar what you are grateful for that day, you focus more on yourself and what you are experiencing than on what you may be missing.
Tip 3: Keep an eye on how realistic something is
More and more content on social media is created by AI, and many influencers use studios that allow them to present you with a very different picture of their lives than they actually have.
For example, consider the studio of a fake private plane in which they take pictures to pretend to fly privately. While they may never go on vacation.
Do you want to achieve certain things you see on social media or be in certain places? Consider how realistic that actually is, and otherwise set intermediate goals that can be achieved faster.
That feels much better.
Tip 4: You can't miss anything if you start yourself
Afraid of not being invited to a party or meeting up with friends? You don't have to be afraid of that if you take the first step. Think about what you would like to do with other people and send them an invitation.
By taking initiative, you achieve more than by passively waiting to see if you fit in.
Hypnosis Against FOMO
Is it hard for you to use these practical tips? Does the fear hit you in the throat at the thought of not being able to use your smartphone for 8 or 9 hours?
In this case, hypnotherapy can do much to combat this anxiety. FOMO often goes hand in hand with social media addiction. A case study in which 2 adolescents were helped against social media addiction (and FOMO) with hypnosis coaching used several techniques, including:
- Emotional release techniques
- Sharework
- Resolving conflicting thoughts
- Anchor
- Circle of excellence
These techniques helped transform the beliefs that caused anxiety and social media addiction[7]. Instead of FOMO, they were able to focus more on their own lives and thereby gain JOMO (Joy of Missing Out).
There is a certain emotion in the fear of missing something, and there are numerous techniques to get those emotions out of the body. For example, with sharing work, you let people have the conversation between the different parts of themselves, such as the scholar with the girlfriend.
For example, the student may say something about the importance of sleep for focusing on school, while the friend may say something about the importance of being in touch with your friends. By having this conversation under the guidance of a hypnotherapist, people can come to smart insights that will quickly ensure that FOMO doesn't matter and that real friends don't mind if you don't like their posts until late the next day.
Learn Hypnosis
Want to know how all of the above techniques work? Then it's smart to learn hypnosis. With us in training, you will not only learn hypnosis, but also how to apply NLP techniques during hypnotherapy and even as early as the preliminary interview.
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