Background of FOMO
Fear of missing out syndrome
This syndrome does not represent a new phenomenon in human behavior, however, it has become a very pronounced term in recent years, which is the period during which social networks gained importance in human communication and became more popular. The fear of missing out on information can be defined as a type of social anxiety, that one can miss opportunities for realizing a new experience, new social interaction, different professional and social gains. People in whom this condition is expressed believe that while they are not on social networks, they can miss much — different news about their friends (what they are doing, where they are, with whom …) and business / professional circumstances, they check their mobile phones, social networks, web sites and sites, so they are always in the process.
„Being disconnected from technology is surprisingly stressful. There’s often a feeling of missing out, as we worry about what’s going on… without our knowledge. ( Leon Edwards, Managing Director, Verspack, 2013)“
One fairly obvious way in which social networks are negatively affecting FOMO is what they bring in about social comparison, so people can see what other people do, have, what they do not do, don’t have, can not achieve. When people become aware of all these opportunities that exist and which others exploit, they become dissatisfied and disappointed. When this happens more often, there can be a growing dissatisfaction, indecision about life choices and, ultimately, general decline in energy.
But in my opinion, in the end people are often unaware that it is better for them than those who are desperately trying to show themselves in the best possible light on social networks.
So, are we addicted to our phones? Not exactly.
Some of the following insights can help us with a deeper understanding of the development of this syndrome:
„We never know when we will get a satisfying email, so we keep chekcing, over and over again, like slot machines — we keep seeking that pleasurable hit.“ (Susan Davis, Web MD, 2013).
„People aren’t addicted to smartphones themselves as much as they are addicted to „checking habits“ that develop with phone use. Certain environmental triggers like being bored or listening to a lecture can trigger the habits.“ (Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 2012)
„Its an environment of almost constant interruptions and distractions… Human beings have a deep, primitive desire to know everything that’s going on around them.“ ( Nicholas Carr, 2010)
So, it’s about our brain? YES!
So what is causing checking habits?
The main culprits for causing FOMO syndrome are chemical substances in the brain. Dopamine is the chemical substance produced by the organism, which plays an important role in our mental health and which is responsible for regulating our mood and energy levels. In short, dopamine is a substance that emits signals of pleasure and excitement of the brain but reasearch also shows that dopamine causes seeking behaviour.
Susan Winschenk Ph.D has over 30 years experience as a behavioral scientist, she explained:
„Dopamine causes you to want, desire, seek out, and search. It increases your general level of arousal and your goal-directed behavior. From an evolutionary stand-point this is critical. The dopamine seeking system keeps you motivated to move through your world, learn, and survive. It’s not just about physical needs such as food, or sex, but also about abstract concepts. Dopamine makes you curious about ideas and fuels your searching for information. Research shows that it is the opioid system (separate from dopamine) that makes us feel pleasure. The dopamine system is stronger than the opioid system. You tend to seek more than you are satisfied. Evolution again — seeking is more likely to keep you alive than sitting around in a satisfied stupor.
With the internet, twitter, and texting you now have almost instant gratification of your desire to seek. It’s easy to get in a dopamine induced loop. Dopamine gets you seeking, then you get rewarded for the seeking which makes you seek more. It becomes harder and harder to stop looking at email, stop texting, or stop checking your cell phone to see if you have a message or a new text.
Interestingly brain scan research shows that the brain has more activity when people are ANTICIPATING a reward than getting one. It is possible for the dopamine system to keep saying “more more more”, causing you to keep seeking even when you have found the information. How many times have you searched for something on google, found the answer, and yet realize a half hour later that you are still online looking for more information?
Dopamine is also stimulated by unpredictability. When something happens that is not exactly predictable, that stimulates the dopamine system. Our emails and tweets and texts show up, but you don’t know exactly when they will, or who they will be from. It’s unpredictable. This is exactly what stimulates the dopamine system.“
(Full article written by Susane Winshenk: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-wise/201209/why-were-all-addicted-texts-twitter-and-google)
