FOMO: FEAR OF MISSING OUT
One of the largest potential dangers when it comes to psychological effects of social media and children is called FOMO; Fear of Missing Out.
This is the idea of users spending excessive time on social media in fear and anxiety that they are missing out on a social opportunity. An article from theguardian.com gives this statistic:
The Australian Psychological Society surveyed teens aged 13 to 17 at the end of last year [2015] and reported that half suffer from Fomo and feel anxious because of it.
A need to “fit in” and societal pressures have always been an issue in adolescents. This pressure is now stronger than ever with the influx of online communication through social media. Children see their friends going to events they weren’t invited to, or see children they don’t know and admire doing things they can’t. This pressure to be like someone else, elevated by a system of digital popularity valued by likes and shares has aided in creating this symptom called “FOMO.”
FOMO can be a good thing, as youths who admire good role models can become eager to aspire to be better versions of themselves. For example Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Aly Raisman have been known to influence children online as seen here. These young women are role models and advocates for youth fitness and various other positive stances. A child molding themselves after such role models may be encouraged to work harder in their passions as well as want to research these stances these girls stand for. This eagerness to research and place good qualities on themselves can surely be a positive thing.
Not all forms of FOMO are this positive though. For those struggling with the negatives of FOMO, there are some ways to combat this anxiety. The article sourced below from theguardian.com suggests turning off notifications so social media is easier to ignore. They also suggest five apps to manage phone use:
Moment, Offtime, QualityTime and Freedom: These apps track how much you use your device and can set daily limitations.
Twilight: Affects the display of your device, filtering out blue light which can disrupt sleep. This allows users to avoid staying awake which can make users unable to turn off social media for the night.
image: http://frugalbeautiful.com/blog/deal-fear-missing-forced-frugal/