Page 266 - Sanidhya 2025

The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO):

A Modern Mental Trap

“Don’t measure your worth by someone else’s highlight reel.”

We live in a hyper-connected world where social media platforms constantly feed us images of people enjoying
parties, vacations, achievements and relationships. These seemingly perfect snapshots often leave us with an
unsettling feeling — the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).

FOMO is the persistent anxiety that others are having more fun, achieving more or living better lives than we are. It is
not just about missing an event — it’s about feeling that your life is not as fulfilling as others. And in a world where
“Real life begins where filters end,” FOMO has quietly become a modern mental trap.

At its core, FOMO is powered by comparison. We see somebody’s joyful post and instead of simply appreciating it, we
start comparing. The trip we didn’t take. The event we weren’t invited to. The job we didn’t get. What we often forget
is that social media is a highlight reel, not the whole movie. Nobody posts their failures, bad days, or moments of

doubt. Yet we compare our reality to someone else’s best five seconds. And that, as they say, is how “Comparison
becomes the thief of joy.”

FOMO doesn’t just affect how we feel — it affects how we live. We begin to act out of pressure instead of purpose.
We attend events not because we enjoy them but because we want to be seen. We post things not to express but to

impress. As a result, we are “Caught in the scroll, missing the soul.”

This fear can lead to mental exhaustion, reduced self-worth, poor sleep and constant restlessness. It becomes a cycle
- the more we see, the more we feel as we are missing and disconnected from our own lives. Ironically, the more we

try to stay connected online, the more we feel alone offline.

But what if we flipped the script? What if we embraced JOMO - the Joy of Missing Out?

JOMO is not ignorance; it is intentional peace. It is the choice to slow down, tune in and be fully present in our own
lives — even if we are not in the spotlight. It is the power of realising that joy doesn’t need any audience. That not
every meal needs a photo, not every success needs applause and one doesn’t has to post it to prove it.

To move from FOMO to JOMO, start by limiting your screen time. Give yourself moments away from the noise.