Unpacking FOMO

It seems like everyone is on social media platforms these days. It has become an important and integral part of our daily lives. We use it to update our friends, family and acquaintances on whatever is going on in our lives, but if we’re being honest, it’s a highlight reel. 

An issue that stems from frequent social media use is FOMO, which stands for “fear of missing out.” This uncomfortable feeling is brought up due to the posts we see of others’ “perfect” lives. We can't help but compare our own lives to those we see portrayed on social media. Sometimes we don't even really know the people, but this doesn’t stop us from comparing ourselves to them. 

We compare our bodies, facial features and relationships to those of others. We constantly put ourselves down without realizing that the things we see on social media are not completely real.

An example of this is relationships. That couple you constantly see on Instagram may seem perfect, and it might make you crave that type of relationship. It feeds into what you think a perfect relationship looks like, but you never know what goes on behind the scenes.

Social media makes us feel like we are missing out on something. It causes us to be less satisfied with our own lives. This pressures us to show the best of our own lives to others. We try to be perfect online. We have to realize that if we feel pressured to be perfect online and show only the good parts, then other people are doing the same. You can’t let social media get to your head. Just as you are seeing other people's posts and thinking “I wished I looked like that” or “I wish I could do that,” they are probably thinking the same thing when they look at your posts. No one really knows what a person is going through or the reason that they are posting certain things. Scrolling harms people's self-perceptions. It leads to people bringing themselves down and feeling dissatisfied. We only see the positive side of many people’s lives, and it makes us wonder why we aren't as happy as they are. It’s important to recognize that we only see what others want us to see. Social media has been used to only highlight the positive aspects of one's life. Always remember that not everything we see is the way it is.