By Renée Sylvestre-Williams and the Sun Life team
FOMO syndrome can cause your bank account to fluctuate dangerously. See how to resist it by managing your budget and calling on your friends.
The FOMO syndrome: how to prevent it from taking control of your finances? (audio)
Listen now: 4 minutes.
By comparing yourself too much to others on social media, you may feel like you’re not enjoying life enough.
It can be entertaining and inspiring to browse your news feed and like or comment on posts. But these activities can also cause FOMO syndrome (for “fear of missing out”) or failure anxiety. This fear can seriously eat into your wallet and harm your mental health.
What does FOMO syndrome mean?
FOMO syndrome is the feeling or impression that other people lead a life:
more fun,
more interesting,
fuller or richer.
This syndrome is often fueled by social media.
What is the link between social media, FOMO syndrome and mental health?
Social media can cause sadness. Psychology, Today magazine talks about bottom-up and top-down social comparisons.
Bottom-up social comparison is trying to look better by multiplying:
expenses,
outputs,
overpriced vacations.
Top-down social comparison is comparing yourself to less privileged people than yourself.
FOMO syndrome can also be a source of sadness because we don’t like to feel left out. Especially when we see our friends having a good time without us.
How can FOMO affect my finances?
FOMO syndrome can cause you to keep pace with others and live beyond your means. You start spending before you know it, but it doesn’t help you feel better.
Suppose your friends are going on vacation and you cannot afford to accompany them. You could forget about caution and put it all on the credit card. At the moment, you would instead go into debt than miss out on something important! After all, you only live once! Great posts from your friends depress you more than your possible indebtedness. So all this can push you to spend money that you do not have.
According to a survey conducted by ratehub.ca:
70% of Canadians believe some of their debt is caused by FOMO;
25% of them say it is their number one expense.
This financial stress can further accentuate the feeling of anxiety. Sun Life found that 59% of working Canadians say they are stressed about their personal finances. And for them, following a budget is not easy.
What can I do to avoid FOMO syndrome and stay in control of my finances?
Of course, you could simply delete your social media accounts. But there are three less drastic strategies to help you:
to overcome the FOMO syndrome,
to respect your budget,
to find satisfaction.
- Recognize social media for what it is.
Remember that an Instagram post, for example, is staged, not a snapshot of reality. This does not mean that the message is false or dishonest. It is a carefully cut slice of life. The “perfect” photo published can result from a series of 12 different shots.
A good tip: to master the FOMO syndrome, think about all the work that goes into a good publication. Thus, you will stop dwelling on the perfection it evokes. Try to surprise your followers by posting an imperfect photo from time to time. Who knows? You could make someone laugh and lessen the weight of FOMO syndrome in your social media universe.
- Build caring communities online and in real life.
The actual value of the social media experience is not tied to the number of followers or likes. Instead, build virtual and physical communities focused on optimism and mutual support. After all, the time you spend with your friends is suitable for your mood and health. And it can help you create memories worth photographing and showing off online. - Include pleasure in the budget.
Impulse buying awaits you when you see hot new shoes in a post? Or when you visit one of your friends on vacation? You could save money for an adventure or something that really appeals to you.
You could start by knowing where your money is going. Use the online budget calculator to help you.
The next step is to make a financial plan. Consult an advisor who can help you to be prudent to satisfy.
