FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

In the next hour, I might miss out on the greatest thing that could happen to me. Or maybe that’s just the FOMO talking. FOMO, the fear of missing out, has infiltrated the zeitgeist in the past decade. What does the obsession with FOMO tell us about our desire to connect with others in an age of consumer capitalism and social media? In episode 70, Ellie and David consider the fear of missing out in light of Nietzsche’s ressentiment, Freud’s psychoanalysis of Little Hans, and how FOMO has changed due to COVID. They consider whether the movement toward JOMO, or the joy of missing out, provides a viable solution to the fear.Svend Brinkmann, The Joy of Missing Out: The Art of Self-Restraint in an Age of Excess PaperbackSigmund Freud, Obsessions and PhobiasSigmund Freud, “Analysis of a Phobia in a Five-Year-Old Boy”Mayank Gupta and Aditya Sharma, “Fear of missing out: A brief overview of origin, theoretical underpinnings and relationship with mental health”Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street”Mark Morford, “Oh My God You are So Missing Out”Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of MoralsJenny Odell, How to Do NothingJames A. Roberts and Meredith E. David, “The Social Media Party: Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Social Media Intensity, Connection, and Well-Being”Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail |  Dearoverthink@gmail.comYouTube | Overthink podcastSupport the show