Technology has infiltrated our daily lives, creating a desire to always be connected. The inability to do so causes FOMO, or fear of missing out. However, new research reveals that humans can enjoy missing out rather than fear it. This is why JOMO, or the joy of missing out, has been trending on social media during the last several weeks. JOMO is the cure to FOMO, providing a peaceful haven where you may savor the moment, prioritize your well-being, and discover pleasure in the art of missing out on the unneeded.
JOMO stands for finding satisfaction in missing or not participating in particular activities, as well as enjoying leisure instead of scrolling through social media feeds (or “doomscrolling” in the case of Instagram Reels).
On TikTok, the hashtag #JOMO has nearly 53 million views.
Anil Dash, an American Entrepreneur Created this Term in a Blog Post Published In 2012
According to Forbes, Anil Dash, an American entrepreneur, created the term in a blog post published in 2012. He came up with the term after becoming a father and recognizing that he had missed out on a lot in the month following the birth of his son.
“JOMO reminds us that we can not only not fear that we are missing something important, but actually enjoy missing something,” Tali Gazit, an associate professor of information science at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, told The Washington Post.
“JOMO is actually being able to be in the here and now. To be able to enjoy what you are doing now without looking left and right and be jealous or anxious about missing something,” she said.
