Today’s headlines are about fear of Ebola, but on our campus there’s another outbreak of disease: FOMO. The Fear Of Missing Out, otherwise known as one of the hardest challenges a college student will have to overcome. Some may call FOMO a disease, and some may call FOMO an addiction, some may call FOMO a hobby. Either way, the fear of missing out is a serious matter for the typical college student, and should not be taken lightly!
College is a fun time filled with lots of parties, pictures, and philanthropy events. Who wants to miss out on any of those? These four years are our time to have fun and remember (or not remember) hundreds of crazy adventures.
As a junior in college, I have experienced FOMO on many occasions and I have yet to overcome it. The following advice is for all of my fellow college students who are currently dealing with their own serious cases of FOMO.
How to know if you have FOMO: The Symptoms1. You see that you have a Friday test and already get panicked because you might have to stay in on Thirsty Thursday to study.
2. If there is a pool party happening and only two people you know are going, you still insist on going even though you know it won’t be that much fun.
3. You refuse to go home for a weekend because you know you will miss the invite-only Playboy bunny party.
4. You still want to go out even though you know you’re getting sick.
5. Even though you have absolutely nothing to wear, you will actually buy something just so you can be in pictures without having an outfit repeat.
As a victim of severe FOMO, I can apply to each one of these on multiple occasions. Now, here is some hard-earned advice on how to handle this so-called FOMO addiction.
Tip #1. It’s all about your image of people thinking you’re cool, but don’t be afraid to tell people "no". Don’t worry, no one will think differently of you. Quite frankly, everyone is too concerned with their own night to even remember you are not there.
Tip#2: If you have finally worked the courage to tell people you’re not going out on Thirsty Thursday, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE open Instagram or Snapchat Stories from the hours of 10:30pm-1:00am. Warning: you will start to cry.
Tip #3: Reward yourself for staying in on Thursday with a promise to dayge on Saturday if you finish your work. Having that goal set will give you the motivation to finish your studies and will remind yourself that you’ll make up for lost social time on Saturday.
Tip #4: Making your night staying in can actually be really fun. You can have sober fun with In-N-Out cheesy fries and a tear jerker movie with your best friends. Believe it or not, these are some of the best memories you will make in college.
Ultimately, we should always remember that we are in college--if you stay in one night, it's not the end of the world. After all, it's practically guaranteed that there will be a party the next day and the next day and the next day to make up for skipping one night out. Always remember, going out is the same stuff, different night. You may miss out on some inside jokes and picture opportunities, but there’s always more times to make up for these. Believe me.
If overcoming FOMO is the hardest challenge we face in college, I think we're going to be alright. I have faith that we will be able to get through this together.
