F.O.M.O. -- Fear Of Missing Out

So as many of you know, I'm a Communications major at MSU.  So in preparation for the year and because I'm overly paranoid of missing something important from my college, I followed their Facebook page.

Today, as I was scrolling through my news feed, I came across a video they had posted about "FOMO" or, "Fear Of Missing Out", which was the top reason people gave for constantly being attached to their phone or social media.  Now I confess, I'm a technology addict.  I'm always on my computer or my phone.  Granted, there are times I'm doing productive things, but when it's 10pm, I can guarantee you I'm on my laptop Skyping my boyfriend and scrolling through Facebook or Instagram.  Same for 10am, minus the Skype thing--since I'm usually texting.  :P

The thing is, as extreme as that sounds, it's actually quite normal.  I am a normal 18 year old American.  As of 2015, 64% of adults (18+) in the U.S. own a smartphone of some sort.  In the spring of 2011, only 35% of adults owned a smartphone.  Teenagers send an average of over 3,000 per month. There are 1.19 billion active Facebook users now worldwide, and 728 million of those users use it every day.  And they're saying Facebook is on it's way out...

Now, "Fear of Missing Out", as it was called, is something I think we all struggle with in some way or another.  And it's not just social media.  I've met some people who were addicted to radio talk shows, other various news sources, etc.  Of course, Facebook addiction is probably more common, but it's not the only one out there.  

I think we've brought this upon ourselves.  When something big happens in our lives, we instantly post it to Facebook.  Of course that is the fastest way to share information with a large audience of people who sometimes care, but what if someone isn't on Facebook?  They don't know.  Then when you see them, everyone's talking about this life event and this individual is like, "Wait what? Why didn't you tell me?"  

I'll share this example of my own mistake just to prove a point.  

So, if you're paying attention you'll notice my friend Tucker has appeared in a lot of my blog posts lately.  He actually wrote a post that I featured on my blog.  Well, a week ago he and I started dating.  Of course I posted this on Facebook and on my Snapchat story and on Instagram.  My younger sister was in Ohio at the Camp Perry National Rifle Matches, and she only had a warning to go off that by the time she got back, Tucker and I would probably be together.  Well, in my mind, I thought, "I don't want to specially contact anyone.  My Best Friend Emma was (and is) out of state as well, and I thought the easiest way to let the people who wanted to know, know, was to just post it on the social media that everyone saw and let everyone find out together.  Well, that wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had.  My sister wasn't happy with me.  

Do you see why social media/technology can not only bring people together but tear them apart?  I don't know who was right or wrong in that situation with my sister, and I don't care, because regardless of who was right, it still caused a rift in my relationship with my sister.  And really people, physical relationships with real people should be and are more important than any virtual relationship.  If I could redo that situation, I would.  Even if she was wrong to expect that of me, my relationship with her is more important than anything else.  

So what I'm saying is this:  put the gosh darn phone away.  

I know it's hard.  Believe me, I struggle with it too.  But when you're out with friends, you don't need to be attached to the social media.  Something else I've learned is that you don't have to answer a text as soon as it comes. You don't have to answer a Facebook message.  It's okay to have unread notifications.  When you're with friends, put it away.  You can catch up on everyone else's lives later.  When you're with people physically, that's a time for you to talk to them. People have always been and will always be more important than technology.  

So if you're scared of missing out, then maybe you should get together with your friends and actually talk.  Or give them a call.  Find out what's going on in their lives in a more personal way, rather than just relying on social media.  It'll probably help with that internet addiction too.  ;) 

So that's it for now.  Sorry I've been so sporadic with my post times.  I really need to get more organized.  I will write again as soon as I can.  Love you all. :)