This content has been automatically translated from Ukrainian.
In today's world, each of us is the creator and viewer of our own reality show, there is inevitably a feeling that others live a richer life. This feeling is known in psychology as Lost Opportunity Syndrome (FOMO), is a consequence of the complex interaction between social media, neurobiological processes and social expectations.
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) defined as persistent anxiety that comes from thinking that others may be experiencing an exciting, important or unique experience while you are absent. This condition is a direct consequence of several psychological mechanisms:
- According to the theory of social comparison Leon Festinger, people have an innate tendency to evaluate their abilities and beliefs by comparing them to others. Social networks provide an unlimited number of objects for this comparison, but with one important nuance: we compare our «real» life with the idealized «facade» exhibited by others.
- Self-determination theory — this is a theory that states that a person needs three basic needs for psychological well-being: autonomy, competence, and kinship. FOMO undermines all three. The constant fear of missing something reduces the feeling of autonomy, the illusion of someone else's success makes you doubt your own competence, and idealized pictures cause a feeling of social isolation.
- From a neurobiological point of view, social networks work according to the principle interval reinforcement. When we see a new alert or liking, the brain releases dopamine, which makes us feel happy. This process forms behavioral dependence. Fear of missing a new «dopamine stimulus» is a key component of FOMO.
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