Monday, July 6, 2015

Is a high FoMo level bad or good?

FoMo – the “fear of missing out” – is a relatively new concept where people are concerned that others may be having more fun and rewarding experiences than them. It is characterised as the desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing. Check this link to read more about 
FoMo effects
I want to share my FoMo level here as shown in Figure 1. You can also get your FoMo level via the FoMo quiz. 
Figure 1 My FoMo Level
While doing the quiz, I am starting to think about whether having a high FoMo level is good or bad. For me, at weekends, I always spend more time in talking with my roommates, friends, and families. I want to know what is going on in their life. The first thing I often do when I wake up is to check my friends' updated status via WeChat. And the last thing I often do before I fall asleep to check my friends' status and their messages sent to me. As long as my phone is at hands, I want to check updated information which I am interested. I agree that I have a high FoMo. When I focused on my own entertainment or study at weekends without checking those updates, I felt nervous. Did I miss some important information? Did my friends have wonderful experiences like getting married or travelling? 

FoMo is not a good thing for me. When we keep up with others' life, we sometimes feel unsatisfactory with our own life, and then feel unhappy. My aim is to reduce my FoMo level in my personal life. 
But I hope I can have a high FoMo level in a learning and professional community. Take the Web 2.0 course for example, it's good to keep up with my classmates' posts on Discussion board, Twitter, Wikis, and blogs. For this course, I should know what my classmates are thinking about or talking about.  

What's your opinion? Is a high FoMo level bad or good?  

2 comments:

  1. It's very cool, Yao! I also took the quiz, and I am in the yellow zone. :D
    I think high level of FoMo is not a good thing, and social media make things worse. Of course it is important for our social lives, but still we have to decide when too much is too much.

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  2. I agree. I am so sad that I am in the read zone. Hope I can reduce my FoMo level.

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