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No THE FEAR OF MISSING OUT TEST 44

University of Essex developed a questionnaire in order to investi-gate this phenomenon: they call it ‘FoMO’ (Fear of Missing Out).

HOW IT’S EVALUATEDForty per cent of all 35-year-olds suffer from FoMO; men more frequently than women, and adolescents more frequently than adults. If you take your child’s smartphone away, even if it is only for a few hours, it’s very likely that s/he will have this feeling. We know it ourselves: when we’re in a bad mood or lonely, bored or stressed, we click around on Facebook. This simply reinforces our feeling of having missed out on something. It’s a vicious circle.

Psychologists call it addiction when we open an app more than sixty times a day, or when we check our smartphone on waking up or just before going to sleep.

WHAT IT’S ABOUTOn social media, we all show ourselves from our best side – and see the best side of others. We post photos of perfectly prepared meals, perfect holidays, perfect parties, and perfect children. And because of this, our online selves are far removed from our offline selves. The gap between what we’re really like and how we behave on the Internet is big enough for an ocean liner to sail through. Psychologists believe that the problem lies in the perceived happiness of others that makes us doubt our own happi-ness. With every click, we can see our ‘friends’ at a party – and we’re stuck at home. Our ‘friends’ are in a happy relationship and successful at their jobs – and we’re not. Face-book makes the lonely visible.

THE TESTA team of psychologists from the

Am I addicted to social media?

GOOD TO KNOW

Child-rearing methods in the 21st century: ‘Do you want to know today’s Wi-Fi password? Then clean up your rooms!’

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Short FoMO test:

1. I check my phone just before I go to sleep and when I wake up. yes no

2. I have the feeling others are leading a better and more exciting life than me. yes no

3. Even when I’m on holiday I read my emails but don’t answer, so that nobody thinks I’m checking my emails while I’m away. yes no

4. I check for updates (email, Messenger, Facebook etc.) more than four times an hour. yes no

5. In a restaurant, I check my phone when my companion goes to the toilet. yes no

6. I often have the feeling I’ve missed out when I see or hear about what others have been doing. yes no

7. When I’m having a good time or do something exciting it’s important for me to share the details online. yes no

8. When I’m on holiday, I continue to keep tabs on what my friends are doing. yes no

How often did you choose “yes”?

0 to 3 times: no FoMO.4 to 5 times: more FoMO than the average person.6 to 8 times: heavy FoMO.

You can do the Andy Przybylskis FoMO test here: ratemyfomo.com

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