Do You Experience FOMO When You Unplug?

Many parents in modern society may complain about their teenager’s addiction to their phones. Teens may spend time on their phones in search of relaxation or communication. One aspect of social media and phone usage that is less explored lies in the acronym FOMO which stands for “fear of missing out”. While teenagers may post on their social media accounts to update their friends on their lives, they also use social media as a way of staying in touch with society. The drastic generational shift from quality time spent together to online platforms has created a phenomenon of fear when unplugged from technology. 

 

Many teenagers in 2023 have likely heard their parents say something along the lines of “when I was your age, we didn’t have cell phones and had to actually go outside” at some point in their lives. Many teenagers may opt to FaceTime or text their friends rather than see them in person, which many parents may not understand simply because that option was not available during their childhood. According to the Pew Research Center, by 2002, 62% of Americans owned a cell phone (Pew Research Center). Using the generational divisions created by Beresford Research; this would mean that people born in any generation before Millennials and Gen Z did not grow up with owning a cell phone as the norm (Beresford Research). The impact of childhood with or without cell phones proves significant by many opposing ideas on daily life between teenagers and their parents.

Due to the majority of parents of teenagers in 2023 being late Millennials or Gen Xers, cell phone norms have drastically changed from parent to teen. These changes have created completely different lifestyles for teenagers in terms of technology. Something that Millennials, Gen Xers, and Gen Zers have in common is that phones may have been used for communication. Through either a cell or a home phone, all three of these generations have used phones as a form of communication. However, the contrasting usages of technology began to differ in Gen Z as social media platforms became more than communication. In a survey on teenagers in 2022, 95% reported to have ever used YouTube, 67% had used TikTok, 62% had used Instagram, and 59% had used Snapchat (Pew Research Center). This vast majority of teenagers active on social media platforms has caused them to evolve into a community. For comparison sake, imagine in 2000 that 95% of teenagers reported that they had been to an ice skating rink. Ice skating would become the next big trend and by not participating you would feel as though you must be missing out on what the other 95% of teenagers are doing. This same concept is so present in social media because of the large quantity of active teenagers on these platforms, and the content. 

While the numbers alone might be enough reason to have FOMO when not online, it’s not just the high percentage that worries teenagers, it’s the content inside these social media platforms. Teenagers constantly are posting, liking posts, and following others to engage with these platforms and maintain their online social life. This cycle that social media has captured many teenagers into is so difficult to break free from because people gain assurance through the media. Keeping track of friends’ posts, seeing what the latest news is from celebrities, and having the ability to find accounts of so many people, gives teenagers a sense of security through this sort of “database”. To refer back to the ice skating analogy, teenagers wouldn’t just be influenced by the fact that all of their friends are ice skating, they would also know that if they couldn’t ice skate, they wouldn’t ever see their friends because they would be in the ice rink. By not being on social media, teenagers are not only excluded from the majority of their generation, but they are also out of the loop. Essentially, because social media has grown so much, it has become a place of connection, making it greater than communication software. 

The evolution of generational technology has displayed the vast incline of social media usage among generations. Due to the high numbers of teenagers engaged in various social media platforms, these platforms have evolved to become a new sense of community among teenagers. This sense of community provides a connection to teenagers through posting, watching, and searching in order to stay in touch with society. Thus, social media platforms have become increasingly difficult to distance from due to the fear of missing out on new trends, relationships, news, or friendships, as society may rapidly change without you. 

- Julia

Worked Cited:

Pew Research Center. "Mobile Fact Sheet." Pew Research Center, 7 Apr. 2021, www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/. Accessed 6 May 2023.

Beresford Research. "Age Range by Generation." Beresford Research, www.beresfordresearch.com/age-range-by-generation/. Accessed 6 May 2023.

Pew Research Center. "Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022." Pew Research Center, 10 Aug. 2022, www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/. Accessed 6 May 2023.

Nield, David. "Should We Unplug Our Chargers Each Night?" Techradar, 18 Jan. 2015, www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/should-we-unplug-our-chargers-each-night-1280918. Accessed 6 May 2023.