Do you join the JOMO movement?

It is estimated that the average citizen spends an average of two hours a day on social networks. This adds up to a total of 5.5 years throughout life. Is it really time well spent? What else could you do with that time? Does it match your values? The JOMO movement it promotes enjoyment of what we are doing in the moment, rather than what we could do, thus enabling a state of fulfillment. We explain more ...

FOMO AND JOMO What is the FOMO movement?

A few years ago, a phenomenon related to social networks emerged that was called FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) or fear of missing something. It describes the unpleasant feeling that something very interesting is happening in another place at the moment and you are missing it.

It appears when viewing images through social networks in which someone you know is having a great time, for example, at a party or in some unknown country or watching a series that is the most.

It generates anguish, due to the feeling of not getting to do everything, and at the same time shame or shame when thinking how little stimulating life itself is, which leads to making endless lists of pending things. FOMO originates because we tend to think that what others do is much more interesting than what we do ourselves, and also because we think that if we did not miss anything, we would be absolutely happy.

What is the JOMO movement?

The JOMO was created precisely as a counterweight to the FOMO. It's like an antidote to him. It comes from the acronym in English Joy Of Missing Out, and expresses the joy of missing things voluntarily.

The JOMO movement it is in itself liberating, since it focuses on the enjoyment of what we are doing in the moment, instead of what we could do, thus enabling a state of fulfillment. The term JOMO was coined by the well-known blogger Anil Dash, who defined the pleasure of “not being there” after the birth of his first child, which made him spend a month completely disconnected from the internet.

The surprise was discovering that he hadn't really missed anything important and saying “no” to certain activities also reaffirmed that his fatherhood was the most important thing to him.

How does the Jomo movement work?

Social media is addictive. A "like" is a small discharge of dopamine in our brain. That instant gratification makes us tend to repeat that search, turning minutes into hours and moving away from everything else.

How to practice it?

• First of all I know realistic: accept that the day has 24 hours and that you cannot be in several places at the same time. No human being has the gift of ubiquity or omnipotence.
• Choose what you want invest your time, think about what is really important. Schedule what makes sense to you, create hierarchies of priorities, and stop worrying about what other people are doing or thinking.
• Focus on you. Contact the here and now and learn to enjoy it. When you free your mind from competition, you have more time, energy, and ability to pursue your true interests.
• Low revs. Take more time to do the necessary things in your day to day. Slowing down enhances well-being and creativity.
• Rearrange your habits: set reasonable daily limits for the use of social networks or remove some applications from your phone so that you can only access it through your home computer.
• Disconnect. Not only on a technological level, turning off all electronic devices, but also psychologically, putting aside your obligations and responsibilities and focusing on resting and oxygenating yourself.
• Practice the say no": You don't have to go to every event or be always available. Self-care and love for yourself also involves deciding and setting limits.
• Where does the need for hyperstimulation come from? Ask yourself what is it that scares you of losing yourself and evaluate why you feel that way. What do you really need? Many people need the approval of others through "likes" because they do not know how to value themselves and find personal balance: they need validation to come from outside since it does not come from within: is this your case?
• Enjoy of the loneliness, embrace the silence. Learning to be good with yourself improves your self-esteem. Self-reflection and self-knowledge also help to be better with others and to be more empathetic.
• Get out of the world "virtual" and enter more often in the "real". Delve into your relationships in person, become aware of your body ...

• The term JOMO was coined by the well-known blogger Anil Dash, who defined the pleasure of “not being there” after the birth of his first child, which made him spend a month completely disconnected from the internet.
• Coming to enjoy what is being done in the present moment is liberating and is what the JOMO movement promotes.
• To practice it, be realistic, prioritize what you want to spend your time on, learn to disconnect, to be alone, to say no ... and ask yourself: what are you afraid of losing yourself and why?

Specialist in Clinical Psychology