the fomo problem

The youth generation nowadays are getting convenience of almost everything around. Certainly, it is because thanks to the advancement of technology which has caused leaps people in the way of think, act and talk. Sadly, their behaviour is generally perceived as in negative judgement. The phrase of toxic, mental health, work life balance, sandwich generation, which is well known today, are glorified excessively. By whom? maybe by ourselves. It is a problem, cause we all know that they are the relay holders of the next civilization, the future generation, the agenda writer. They might be you, your siblings, your children. Is this something we should worry about? Well, maybe not. Maybe I’m just exaggerating situations. Just personal experience that should be concerned to know the phenomenon and delve into living in between. Something that looks opportunistic.

In his book synopsis titled “Transformasi Jiwa: Mengubah Jiwa Rapuh Menjadi Sehat dan Tahan Banting Melalui Penerapan Psikologi Positif” (Soul Transformation: Transforming A Fragile Soul into Healthy and Resilient One Through The Application of Positive Psychology), dr. Gunawan Setiadi explaining that one of the main causes of a less successful life in not due to lack of education or physical weakness, but because they have a fragile soul. A soul that can’t withstand the harsh pressure of life, immature, unable to learn from mistakes and solve life’s problems optimally. I did, maybe almost of the person in the world feel it. Living today’s life is burdensome. The pandemic, personal crisis, global crisis, financial problems, inflation, technologist stutter creates unstable personality. Personality that always feeling anxious, restless, dissatisfied and often hopeless. Social media sharpens that negative personality. It is debateable and subjected. Social media today spews out all kinds of news and information, useful or not, related or not. You know the adage of “Good news is good news, bad news is also good news”. Maybe now it is shifting to whatever and anything as long as it is a news, even glorifying bad news. It is a problem, a serious and precarious problem. Social media becomes platform and showcase that strange kind of presenting news. Peoples competing to become famous, to be the center of attention and subject of conversation and it is fine if it’s bad. Getting attention, famous, get endorsement, rich, repeat. What a life! Fragile Soul.

ARI or Attention, Rich and Influence as if it were the sole definition of success. Being the first that hit in is a matter that non-negotiable. People nowadays don’t compete intelligently. They define their new competition, hit maker, richer and popular most. The world with its natural inequality cannot compensate for this phenomenon, this creating the FOMO generation. A generation that always worried about being left behind. Generation that should be the trendsetter or at least still riding the wave of almost everything that topped the pot.

Fear of Missing out is one of what i call social diseases that is currently affecting many people, but they are not aware of or at least don’t admit it. In my personal perspective, I define FOMO as a derivative product (I still looking for the right word) or excess of a person failure to always be the first and the most. Of all the power and effort that was exerted to the max but didn’t make results as expected, at the end all they could only do is to make sure that they don’t miss out on something becoming trend at the moment. If I can’t be the first or the best at least I still inside the wave. Sad right? Interaction with social media for almost 24 hours a day further aggravate or at least lead us to the condition in question. Almost 24 hours a day maybe too much but, but if we spend too much time there rather than real interaction, couldn’t that be said as a mental illness? I am not saying or stating that social media along with the technology advancement is a bad thing. I’m in it!  But as the computer needs a firewall, we should also need to set filters of information that entering and circled around us. I am not talking about certain gender, age, and background, I am talking about most of us. It contagious and affecting almost everyone. Of course, this not entirely gen Z fault, it’s our collective fault. Me, you, us, we know exactly the symptoms. It’s all available on the internet. The problem is what do we do next? where will we place ourselves in? it depends on ourselves. Stop the tendencies to be an average person. We don’t share the same shoes, we don’t tread on the same ground. Why can’t we be different?

As mention before, we don’t share the same shoes. It is okay to just focus on ourselves. It might sound selfish, but what’s the fun living someone else’s life’. At least focus on the people closest to us, people that we love and care about us, that’s enough. You are what you describe and live, not the articles drive. Articles only providing spices, point of view and perspectives that may strengthen or correct what we are believed to. Social media provides what you want to not what you need to. It is what we call algorithms. The algorithm is a complicated form of what you always search for. They don’t give you a ethic perspective. They just give you all the things based on your keyword, right or wrong, appropriate or not, except for those have been set before as a warning. It is a robot thing not human wisdom. Gen Z always blamed for its fast-paced demands and dreams, the X-Gen also blamed for their stuttering to accept technology and those fast-paced thing, while the Gen Y can also be blamed for their position being squeezed between generations. We are all wrong as well as we are all right. Let’s think of generations as a burger, seems inconsequential but just let me finish what I‘m starting. Based on the experience and life wisdom, the X-Gen can be likened as a bun. Full of life experiences and always spotted as reliable. Meanwhile, Y Generation can be likened as a patty, a fresh and juicy meat needed to provide texture and chew. Where’s Gen Z? they are the pickles that provides an intersting bite sensation and distinctive taste. Even though they are small and invisible, doesn’t mean they don’t contribute something. They deliver a punch of flavour on the tip of the tongue. Maybe this is a wrong metaphor and might not describe what is supposed to, but isn’t it a burger if it consist of bun, patty and pickles? So let’s bite then. :)