FOMO isn’t social media’s fault, it’s evolution

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By Webdesk


FOMO is a seemingly made-up word that is actually a very real phenomenon associated with an increased risk of depression, among other mental health problems. So far, social media has taken the biggest blame for such a debilitating fear of missing out. Well recently research reveals that FOMO may be older than the internet and is an entrenched aspect of our evolution.

“Anxiety about missing out on important social opportunities is probably not a new cultural phenomenon,” says the study’s lead author Adam C. Davistold PsyPost. “Humans are an ‘ultra-social species’ that express a fundamental need to belong.”

Looking at FOMO through an “evolutionary lens,” Davis and his team surveyed 327 men and women about status-seeking behaviors, competitiveness in attracting members of the opposite sex, and their experience with FOMO. They found that the more FOMO people had, the more they sought status and competed for potential romantic partners. This drive for success suggests that FOMO may be an adaptive trait, but it “doesn’t mean we think it’s ‘good’ morally or beneficial to our mental health and well-being,” Davis cautioned.

Still, it definitely seems that the survival of the fittest should now be the survival of the FOMOest.



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