01/30/2026
That uneasy feeling after scrolling isn’t random.
It’s Fear of Missing Out.
Social media doesn’t show real life.
It shows moments, edited, filtered, and amplified.
Psychologist Andrew Przybylski and colleagues defined FOMO as a form of social anxiety rooted in unmet psychological needs, especially belonging and self-worth.
Research shows FOMO increases with social media use, where we’re constantly exposed to curated highlights, not real life.
Your brain compares your behind-the-scenes
to everyone else’s highlight reel.
Why It’s So Intense Today:
FOMO thrives because:
➡️ You see events as they’re happening
➡️ Social media removes natural “out of sight, out of mind”
➡️ Algorithms amplify what’s popular
➡️ Rest looks like failure instead of recovery
It’s not that people are doing more, you’re just seeing more.
The Catch (Important Distinction):
FOMO isn’t always about wanting the thing.
Sometimes it’s about wanting the validation of being wanted.
You don’t actually want every plan.
You want reassurance that you could have gone.
Practical Takeaways:
1️⃣ Name it in the moment. “This is FOMO, not intuition.”
2️⃣ Check desire vs comparison. Ask, “Would I want this if I hadn’t seen it?”
3️⃣ Curate your inputs. Less exposure = less anxiety.
4️⃣ Practice JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). Rest, boundaries, and choosing yourself count too.
You’re not behind.
You’re just not everywhere.
And no one actually is, no matter what it looks like online.
