By Aparna S
April 14, 2024: Social media has remodelled communication in good and bad ways. Those who have been increasingly lonely find solace in virtual friendships by logging on to their social media accounts.
While it is not a supplement to healthy human interaction, it has some benefits such as passing on information, pursuing lost interests and making friends regardless of time and place. This trend has particularly caught on during and post-Covid.
Social media interactions are all about developing relationships and remaining connected. However, such novel communication methods have seeded a few negative consequences.
With the shift to virtual communication, perceptions of social interaction have evolved. The way people communicate online differs significantly from traditional methods, leading to a mix of excitement and apprehension about their behavior in digital spaces.
One negative sequel of social networking is FoMo; that is the fear of missing out. The term was coined by Patrick J McGinnis in 2004 in The Harbus, the magazine of Harvard Business School.
Fear of missing out refers to the apprehension and anxiety one feels about being absent from rewarding experiences that others are having. This results in a desire to stay online continuously and get to know what others are up to. Not being able to do so leads to social inferiority, loneliness and rage.
To avoid these negative experiences, people tend to stay online as much as possible, leading to social media addiction.
FoMo and the theory of social relatedness
Social relatedness refers to the need to belong and form strong, long-lasting relationships. This theory proposes that social relatedness drives motivation and positive mental health.
FoMo has been conceptualised as a negative emotion due to unmet relatedness needs. It may be episodic as in a single conversation or a long-term disposition. Too much exposure to others’ activity results in a feeling of self-doubt and inadequacy — a feeling of “whether I am enough.” This leads to continuous uncertainty, whether they are where they should be in life.
FoMo has two stages — the perception of missing out first, and then the compensatory behaviour of compulsive social connectivity. This “compulsive connectivity” causes a problematic attachment to social media and is associated with a range of symptoms such as lack of sleep, reduced competency, anxiety and poor emotional control.
Social media platforms provide a compensatory medium for people with poor interaction skills, possibly due to mental health issues like social anxiety.
The catch is that their unmet social needs are addressed without the need for face-to-face interaction. This allows communication to happen more easily and instantly for individuals with social deficits. However, this is a form of compensatory behavior and is never as fulfilling as healthy, in-person interactions. Such “social compensation” may reinforce avoidance of face-to-face interaction and worsen social anxiety.
‘Need for self-validation’
Problematic social networking behaviour is associated with FoMo since it allows easy access at will and a constant need for self-validation and rewarding appraisals of distorted social self. FoMo-associated social media addiction is characterised by frequent checking and refreshing notifications. The anxiety levels heighten if one is not able to be online and stay “connected.”
Social media is a platform where “edited lives“ are on display creating a distorted perception of “missing out on the good times”. Posts depicting others’ popularity and “edited happiness” may lead to feelings of loneliness and inadequacy, leading to a vicious cycle of compulsive “staying online”.The constant “upward comparisons” adversely affect one’s self-esteem and may lead to depression and anxiety symptoms.
Also, the problematic internet use associated with FoMo results in people ignoring peer relationships, heightened sense of self-isolation, and a significant risk of suicidality.
Cyclical behaviour
A constant need for approval causes one with FoMo to engage in high-risk activities such as drug abuse, and gambling; as they feel an intense need to “fit in”. FoMo also affects the socialisation pattern in the wrong way.
Social networking sites offer communication with fewer nonverbal cues to avoid meaningful and pragmatic interactions. Individuals with FoMo engage in social media to avoid loneliness but it exacerbates them.
To ease these negative emotions, individuals often turn to the internet, creating a continuous cycle. In addition to its social and psychological effects, the Fear of Missing Out (FoMo) negatively impacts productivity and overall quality of life. It also disrupts healthy sleep patterns, often leading to various forms of insomnia.
In contrast, there is the “Joy of missing out” or JoMo, which is a form of staying happily disconnected, to deal with unhealthy social media behaviour. Instead of easy compensatory social behaviour, one should be able to have healthy human interactions, which fosters creativity and positive mental health.
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