FOMO

A lot of teenage girls experience what is called FOMO when going on social media. Fomo is common with everyone. You can say it’s natural but even if it is, it doesn’t hurt less. Fomo is a fear of missing out. These days social media is huge and sometimes makes things worse when it comes to missing out. Snapchat, a social media platform, allows people to post about anything. This means that most of the stories posted are with friends. Everyone can access the stories and see them. Other friends often get upset or jealous of other people. This leads to conflict among groups. The whole point of feeling FOMO is waiting to be there. Whether it is with a friend or a place you see. 

I have struggled a lot with FOMO. For me, it’s everywhere. I feel a huge amount of guilt every time I experience it though. It stings. It’s probably the worst in a middle school environment. Inside jokes are for me, the base of fomo.Secret handshakes are 99% of the time with two people, leaving one person out at least. Matching friendship bracelets are something that people cherish. But no one realizes that for other people, it can hurt their feelings. My two best friends hang out quite a bit. I’m not gonna lie, sometimes that hurts. For example, we all play volleyball. When it comes to partnering up with people, one of us always gets left out. If it isn’t me, I feel terrible for anyone who is.

Obviously, no one wants to get left out. More than 80% of teenagers these days have a fear of missing out. But if we think about the other side of things, does it make it better? If I was playing with my friend and made the other one feel left out, would that be anyone’s fault? I don’t think so. FOMO  is something you can’t avoid. You feel it whether you want to or not. That’s what makes it hard to escape. Now it’s completely different if you make another friend feel left out on purpose. This way you’re making them feel the worst kind of pain intentionally. The other friend is going to feel the guilt of having FOMO but they shouldn’t because you caused them that pain. I think it is cruel to put that on someone because I know how it feels. 

All in all, FOMO is a hard thing to deal with. It causes self-doubt and confidence to everyone affected. To move past the FOMO the best you can is probably the best way to cope. Although you can’t escape it, you can learn from it. My best advice to you is to talk about it. That way you resolve your feelings and make the other person aware as well.