{"id":334764,"date":"2021-09-04T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-04T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-does-fomo-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it\/"},"modified":"2021-09-04T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T10:00:00","slug":"what-does-fomo-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-does-fomo-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Does \u201cFOMO\u201d Mean, and How Do You Use It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aed3fbd4db7f\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aed3fbd4db7f\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-does-fomo-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it\/#Fear_of_Missing_Out\" >Fear of Missing Out<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-does-fomo-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it\/#Etymology\" >Etymology<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-does-fomo-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it\/#How_Do_You_Use_FOMO\" >How Do You Use FOMO?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#What Does \u201cFOMO\u201d Mean, and How Do You Use It?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-750815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/fomo-written-out-in-neon-letters.jpeg?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/fomo-written-out-in-neon-letters.jpeg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/fomo-written-out-in-neon-letters.jpeg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"&quot;FOMO&quot; written out in neon letters\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-vector\/fomo-neon-text-vector-sign-design-1306920898?\">Soifer\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>FOMO is one of the few internet acronyms that has wiggled its way into <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6211134\/\">psychology papers<\/a>, the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/your-business\/watch\/top-tip-say-no-to-fomo-671723075566\">evening news<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.counseling.org\/news\/aca-blogs\/aca-member-blogs\/aca-member-blogs\/2019\/05\/16\/fomo\">every college counseling office<\/a> in America. But what does FOMO mean, where\u2019d it come from, and how do you use it?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fear_of_Missing_Out\"><\/span>Fear of Missing Out<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>FOMO is simply an acronym for \u201cfear of missing out.\u201d It\u2019s a term that\u2019s used to describe the anxiety of missing out on opportunities. Usually, feelings of FOMO are accompanied by the idea that someone else (friends, family, or coworkers) is taking part in the opportunity that you\u2019re missing out on. It\u2019s a bit like being \u201cin the know\u201d or keeping up with the Joneses.<\/p>\n<p>FOMO is usually used to describe <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> situations.\u00a0You may experience FOMO when you can\u2019t go to a cool party or a concert with your friends, for example. For this reason, FOMO carries a very teenage or childish connotation, and the word crops up in just about every <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> article about millennials. (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/ritual-and-the-brain\/201804\/the-science-fomo-and-what-we-re-really-missing-out\">Psychologists<\/a>\u00a0and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adweek.com\/creativity\/5-ways-marketers-can-successfully-leverage-fomo-amongst-millennials\/\">market researchers<\/a> especially love the term.)<\/p>\n<p>But FOMO is <em>sometimes<\/em> used to describe the fear of missing professional or \u201clife\u201d opportunities, like getting a degree, retiring before your 70th birthday, buying into stocks, or getting a promotion. It isn\u2019t exclusively a \u201cyouth\u201d phenomena, and there\u2019s no reason why you shouldn\u2019t use FOMO to describe \u201cserious,\u201d non-social situations.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Etymology\"><\/span>Etymology<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Oddly enough, we have a decent idea of where the word\u00a0FOMO came from. It seems the word was first put to paper in a 2004 edition of a Harvard Business School\u2019s student paper, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.harbus.org\/2004\/social-theory-at-hbs-2749\/\">The Harbus<\/a>, by a student named Patrick McGinnis.<\/p>\n<p>In <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.harbus.org\/2004\/social-theory-at-hbs-2749\/\">his article<\/a>, McGinnis describes two opposing but intertwined forces: FOMO and FOBO. We already know that FOMO is the fear of missing out, and its use in McGinnis\u2019 article carries the same social connotations that it does today. But McGinnis designates FOBO (fear of a better option) toward the idea of commitment. People suffering from FOBO may be reluctant to solidify plans, for fear that a better opportunity may <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear at the last second.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-438100 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2-3.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A man interacts with social media accounts on his laptop.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/social-media-marketing-virtual-icons-screen-1110935708\" data-credittext=\"everything possible\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/social-media-marketing-virtual-icons-screen-1110935708\">everything possible\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In McGinnis\u2019 article, FOMO and FOBO culminate toward an existential dead-end: FODA (fear of doing anything). When people are afraid of missing opportunities (FOMO) while simultaneously being afraid of commitment (FOBO), the result is social catatonia.<\/p>\n<p>In a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonmagazine.com\/news\/2014\/07\/29\/fomo-history\/\">Boston Magazine<\/a>\u00a0article from 2014, Ben Schreckinger theorizes these acronyms were birthed from the circumstances of the late 1990s\/early 2000s (9\/11, the dot-com burst, the emergence of cellphones). But the word didn\u2019t enter the common vernacular until the 2010s, when (according to psychologists) the feeling was growing among young people due to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6211134\/\">social media and internet use<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_You_Use_FOMO\"><\/span>How Do You Use FOMO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cHow do you use FOMO\u201d isn\u2019t an empowering, existential inquiry. It\u2019s simply a question of semantics. When do you use FOMO in a sentence? Is it appropriate to say FOMO to your boss, or will internet teenagers make fun of you for saying FOMO?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with the grammar. Unlike \u201cLOL,\u201d it\u2019s hard to intuitively stick FOMO into a sentence. That\u2019s because, grammar-wise, the word FOMO has a ton of flexibility. You can use it directly in place of \u201cfear of missing out,\u201d or you can use FOMO as a noun, as if FOMO is a devil on your shoulder forcing you to feel anxiety or dread. And, of course, you can use FOMO as a funny internet word that breaks minor grammatical rules.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-438096 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/3-3.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A man stares at his laptop, wondering if now's the time to finally say FOMO.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/head-shot-serious-puzzled-african-american-1414318691\" data-credittext=\"fizkes\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/head-shot-serious-puzzled-african-american-1414318691\">fizkes\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Here are a few examples of FOMO\u2019s grammatical flexibility:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>In Place of \u201cFear of Missing Out\u201d<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI have a cold, but my deep-seated FOMO made me come to this party.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cHis FOMO was too much to deal with, so he drove 2,000 miles to come to this concert.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>As a Noun<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cFOMO made me come to this party even though I have a cold.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cBlame FOMO; that\u2019s why he drove all the way to this concert.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>As a Funny Internet Word<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI have a cold, but I came to this party because FOMO.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhy\u2019d he drive so far for this concert? Because FOMO, dummy!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that you know how to use FOMO in a sentence, you can start worrying about\u00a0<em>when<\/em> to use the word. You should use FOMO only to describe a situation where someone is anxious about missing out on an opportunity. Again, this term usually applies to social situations (you can\u2019t go to a cool party), but you can also use it to describe serious or professional situations (you and your coworkers stay late at work to pursue a promotion).<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t worry, kids won\u2019t make fun of you for saying FOMO. It\u2019s not really a trendy word or a meme, it\u2019s just a modern descriptor for an age-old feeling that\u2019s been amplified by social media. That said, your boss will probably think you\u2019re childish for saying FOMO in a serious situation, so, you know, avoid doing that.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>If you\u2019re reading this article because of your personal internet-induced FOMO, it may be worth looking into some other freaky internet words. Words like \u201cTL;DR\u201d and \u201cYeet\u201d are commonly used on social networks and in news articles, and understanding their meaning can save you from some FOMO down the road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/437952\/what-does-fomo-mean-and-how-do-you-use-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Does \u201cFOMO\u201d Mean, and How Do You Use It?&#8221; Soifer\/Shutterstock.com FOMO is one of the few internet acronyms that has wiggled its way into psychology papers, the evening news, and every college counseling office in America. But what does FOMO mean, where\u2019d it come from, and how do you use it? Fear of Missing&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":334765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/fomo-written-out-in-neon-letters.jpeg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-334764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}