FOMO

Our series on anxiety and addiction is slowly coming to an end. A good summary, then, would probably be the theme of “fear of disconnection” – a fear, it’s worth adding, that remains strongly linked to addiction issues….

Do you happen to feel anxiety about not knowing what your friends are doing at any given time? At a time like this, do you pick up your phone and look at social media in the hope that your doubts will be resolved? If so, you may be suffering from FOMO, to which we will devote this entry.

What is FOMO?

The name is formed by the first letters of the term Fear of Missing Out, which can be translated as “fear of disconnection.” The phrase was first used by Dan Herman in the mid-1990s. It meant “the fear of not taking advantage” or “running out” of all the available opportunities that our lives offer us at any time. (FOMO. Poles and the fear of disconnection – research report, 2018).

As you can see, the first uses of the term did not necessarily refer us to the online and social media activity with which we associate FOMO today. It wasn’t until the turn of the first and second decades of the 21st century that interest in this phenomenon began, tying it to social media platforms.

As part of our series, we would like to share with you an extremely interesting video in which Dr. Anna Yupovich-Ginalska, prof. UW’s Department of Journalism, Information and Bibliology talks more extensively about what FOMO is, how this anxiety manifests itself and how to deal with it. Professor Anna Jupowicz-Ginalska is the head of the team conducting a cyclical study on FOMO: “FOMO: Poles and the Fear of Disconnection,” and winner of the fourth edition of the “Science is for the People” competition.

You are welcome to attend the screening!

The interview was recorded on February 24, 2022.

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