FOMO

PracticalSlangpsychologyselfmedia

Etymology

An acronym for "fear of missing out." The term was coined by Patrick McGinnis in a 2004 op-ed for The Harbus, Harvard Business School’s student magazine, though the feeling it describes is ancient. Social media supercharged it by making everyone’s highlight reel visible at all times.

  1. noun · /FOH-moh/

    The anxious sense that others are having rewarding experiences you’re absent from, driving you to stay constantly connected and available.

    What it names

    The low-grade dread that powers compulsive checking, and once named it becomes something you can question rather than simply obey.

    Example

    She bought the festival ticket she couldn’t afford out of pure FOMO.

    Related idea

    Its deliberate antidote is JOMO, the joy of missing out — the same social calculus turned from dread into relief.

See also

DoomscrollingJOMOTorschlusspanik