Over the last month or two, you might have seen the use of obnoxious acronym FOMO — short for 'Fear Of Missing Out' — spike among your friends, with researchers in Britain declaring it a real affliction earlier this year.
Now a new survey has found that the majority of social media users are suffering from this decidedly first-world problem; defined by the fear that other people might be having better experiences than you, and characterised by the need to stay continuously connected to them via social media to have these suspicions confirmed/allayed.
It's not a new concept — Liam Finn named an album after it two years ago — but as social media becomes more prevalent, so does the problem (and the cutesy acronym).
The new survey, conducted by MyLife.com, found that 56% of people are afraid of missing out on events, news and important status updates if they stay away from social networks. In fact, 26% of users said they would trade other unhealthy habits — such as smoking cigarettes or watching reality TV — for access to social networking sites (only 3% would trade sex for social media, suggesting that 97% of the population still has its priorities in order to some degree).
51% of the survey's participants log on to social networks more frequently than they did two years ago, and 27% flock to social sites as soon as they wake up. 61% of respondents aged between 18 and 34 manage multiple social media accounts, while the average person now manages 3.1 email addresses (up from 2.6 last year).
Naturally, this level of dependency on social media has led many users — 52% of respondents, in fact — to consider taking a break from at least one social network, and find out if their worlds will keep spinning without knowing what their friends had for breakfast or which filter they've chosen to run their holiday snaps through.
Tragically, though, only 24% said they'd be able to follow through on this desire.
Back in April, University of Essex researcher and psychologist Dr Andy Pryzbylski said that the problem with FOMO is you may become so engrossed in seeing what your friends are doing that you won't be able to enjoy your own life.
"I find Facebook rewarding to use, but how we are using social media is changing," Dr Pryzbylski explained. "It is no longer something we have to sit at a computer and log into as we have access all the time on our phones. It is easier to get into the rhythm of other people's lives than ever before as we get alerts and texts.
"We have to learn new skills to control our usage and enjoy social media in moderation. Until we do, it creates a double-edged sword aspect to social media."
FOMO may sound harmless, but the University of Essex researchers found it can — for example — lead sufferers to compose and check text messages and emails while driving, and become distracted by social media during university lectures.
