The latest syndrome that plagues teenagers and young adults is the nagging fear that every other person is on something they are not.
I. am curled up on my sofa, ready to start viewing my favourite shows-when my blackberry presents me with a slew of new facebook uploads. A group of girlfriends is also catching up on gossip girl and house of anubis, gisting ...with wine...
Before you waste your sympathy on me"the shunned friend",you should know that I was actually invited to the TV viewing party. I chose not to go and it was a perfectly sensible decision given the circumstances;the awful weather,the massive school workload I had... So why-when presented with uploaded photos of my friends having fun- did I suddenly feel panicky?
My mind started reeling....I felt as though I'd missed out on something infinitely more important than sharing laughs over antics and too much red wine on a school night.
I can at least take comfort in the knowledge that this form of social anxiety is common. its been discussed so often that it even has its own acronym [FOMO].
The symptom is a nagging suspicion fueled by the forensic details of other peoples lives we are privy to on the social media ,that our own existences are somehow lacking then we berate ourselves thinking "if only I had made the right decisions I would have this fascinating job/boyfriend/social life" that we perceive others all around us have. I just try to remember -whenever this anxiety comes up- that I can't be at two different places at the same time and I have to set my priorities right.
What do you think? Leave Your Comments Here ;)