The 2011 Bandwagon Effect
Earlier this week, The New York Times published an article by Jenna Wortham about a truly 21st century problem: FOMO. FOMO stands for fear of missing out and is another name for what I’ve always called little sister syndrome. It’s described in the article as, “the blend of anxiety, inadequacy and irritation that can flare up while skimming social media like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram. Billions of Twitter messages, status updates and photographs provide thrilling glimpses of the daily lives and activities of friends, “frenemies,” co-workers and peers.”
I have, on occasion, worked myself into a swivet over other people’s online announcements of their activities and my comparably hermit-like life. When working late or staying home on a Saturday night, it is easy to look at the Facebook status updates and Tweets friends post and conclude that your life is unbearably boring. Some of my friends are constantly at concerts and make me wonder why I’m so uncultured. Others, who “check in” to yet another bar or restaurant on Four Square that I’ve only ever heard of, make my weeknight routine of the gym and dinner at home seem less exciting than my grandmother’s.
I’ve been suffering from some form of FOMO since my older brother and the rest of my neighborhood went off to elementary school – leaving me, the youngest kid in the subdivision – home alone with Mr. Rogers. But there’s no question that today’s digital connectedness exacerbates this issue.
I don’t think I’m alone – and clearly, neither does The New York Times. It is unlikely that those of us who suffer from FOMO will go to such drastic lengths as giving up social networking to alleviate our problem. That means this must have some implication for companies and organizations that use social networking to communicate with various audiences.
Could FOMO cause a Facebook user to purchase a product he wouldn’t have otherwise bought? Could it lead a Tweeter to make an effort to educate herself on a political issue about which she hadn’t previously thought? Could the desire to be in the know online drive engagement between organizations and key audiences? It certainly seems possible and worth exploring.
Comments
I read the FOMO article on Sunday and found myself shaking my head, yes, to much of Jenna's commentary. I love that Laura takes it a step further and poses quite compelling thoughts around the corporate implications of FOMO. I will certainly keep this in mind in future social media conversations with my businses colleagues and clients. I hope there is more to come on this topic!!
This FOMO epidemic is just another way for the rest of society to guilt others into doing what they want them to do, or feel about themselves. Peer pressure is at the core of this. It's nothing more complicated than that. Marketing by manipulation derives elitism. That's why kids in the 80s were robbing each other for their basketball shoes. Adults today get socially berated since they do not have the latest insurgence of technology. It's not an ineffective way to market, but it always has horrible social repercussions.
A person should be excited about a product that their friend has, or a commercial that they saw for it. "Hey, that's cool, I'd like to get one". Not because he felt guilted in to getting a product that will make him go bankrupt after he gets it doesn't even actually like. Millions of people have an iPod right now; but only about half of them actually use it, or even like it.
In addition, the high life of others that we observe on Facebook are just edited versions of everyone's lives. Is their life truly like that? Do we really know them personally that their life is that exciting? Most "friends" on Facebook are really acquaintances. So in that light, we only know less than half about that person's exploits. Something else to consider is that perhaps the reason that all of these people are out at bars & concerts living it up is because they maybe compensating for a life that they don't have yet or displacing for what actually would make them happy.
The best advice is don't believe everything that you read. So your buddy from college that you had in the same chemistry class one semester and hung out socially twice in the whole four years you knew him met the Pope last week and posted it on Facebook. Are we really going to lose sleep over this? Did you want to meet the Pope? Do you even like your buddy that much? What are we really killing ourselves over?
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