Let’s face it, social media is a blessing a curse, and the latter was cemented when model and TEDx speaker Leomie Anderson wrote about ‘FOMOMG’ or ‘Fear Of Missing Out On My Goals.’ While there’s been plenty of international response, a large part of Hyderabad has been nodding their heads to this tune. Like FOMO, its offspring is more centred on goals and achievements than general social plans.
“We’ve all heard this trope that our generation is lazy, entitled and privileged with millionaires telling us to stop buying avocados so we can buy a house,” writes Leomie, “but studies show that perfectionism is more rampant than ever amongst millennial’s with this trait being linked to anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder.” The study she cites is Perfectionism, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder from the American Psychological Assocation in which we are the most anxious generation with women scoring higher than men and people of colour scoring 11 points higher on the anxiety scale than caucasians; this heavily alludes to the socio-economic statii of POC communities around the world.
Certified life coach Vishal Sukhatankar says the concept is not necessarily new but rather it has been given a name. It’s common to feel pressure to keep up with certain targets and timelines. “The concept makes sense and it’s backed by the many surveys being done internationally about the time we spend on social media; it’s not productive, reading about someone else’s social life or broadcasting our own lives. We forget what is essential to really live and live out these goals. So FOMOMG is a bi-product,” points out Vishal.
HYDERABAD (AP) -10-01-2014--BL/FILES : Cellphones and mobile handsets a fad at college campus es. ( Tags : Education , education , girls , boys ) . -PHOTO: P.V.SIVAKUMAR / 9440422761
But he says the concept lacks information on how to push yourself to achieve your goals, it just points out the emotional dispositions of insecurity and jealousy. He refers to a ‘benchmark’ that people set for themselves and the comparison culture imbibed by this is unhealthy and goes against basic human nature. “Our goals aren’t our own goals at the start; they’re goals put in place by society. So social media is a huge culprit and influencer. So when we go back to nature or any other healing reminders, we are shaken a bit to realise what our priorities and goals truly are.”
26 year-old medical student Aarushi Datta resides in Gachibowli and she often sees her friends who’ve long since graduated and have the time to travel while actively making money through work. “I feel like I’ve been a medical student forevver and when I log onto Instagram and see people doing the things I planned for myself to do by a certain age, it’s quite discouraging,” she says. Will she ditch social media though? No, she’s says quickly, adding, “it’s too isolating if I do that. More than texting, I feel like social media is how friends reach out to each other to make plans. And that will give me real FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).”
It doesn’t always affect millennials either. 52 year-old Rani Khetan has ditched social media entirely as she feels a lot of her old classmates have accomplished the goals they’ve set out to do. “In my time and my household when I was growing up, I was told to lead a certain life. Having not gone to university, I was pretty much boxed in, and yes, that’s a choice I made but now I’m attending classes and workshops for things I’d like to achieve. There’s always a way to empower yourself and not miss out on these goals, you know?”
Digital detoxes aren’t new to Hyderabad; in fact, they’re very much on the rise and they’re drawing in quite a crowd — of either self-imposed or facilitated varieties. Vishal says the digital detox he conducts at Hyatt Gachibowli is very introspective andd while FOMOMG is part of the digital detox which can be discussed but it’s not the entirety of the programme.
So are you experiencing FOMOMG? If so, it’s worth talking it out and understanding life can be a glass half full rather than social media poking at what we’re lacking. Hyderabad, a technology and social hub of India, has people more susceptible to FOMOMG, so look alive, everyone.
