I guess I am late to the game in learning the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). When I first heard of FOMO, I thought it was some sort of new plague set to take out mankind, never realizing that I should be afraid of missing out on so many things that are happening around me and to my Facebook/Twitter/Google +/foursquare/Instagram/Pinterest friends. (Oh, wait, am sensing a pattern here.)

Being of a generation that was raised to use cell phones (car phones back then) only in emergencies because of the high cost of the calls, I would never have imagined that I could be using my cell phone to keep tabs on so many people! I only recently discovered that I have attachment issues with my iPhone (when I left it at home one day and felt the need to hold it and peruse every app for at least 30 minutes to see what I might have missed). But at least I now have a name for the malady. And I am not a lone sufferer, it seems.

However, this raises a question. Are we missing out on life around us as we become more attached to our mobile devices and social media and less attached to going out and living? I am not convinced of this yet as I love all the benefits that social media provides. I can keep up with past students, high school friends,  trends and current issues that face our society. And the fact that social media is available on mobile phones, we can share while out and about and living the grand life. No longer do we have to wait to get home to load all of the pictures of our fabulous outings. We can load a couple of well-taken shots right from our phones, just enough to make our friends jealous and give them a serious case of FOMO.

Do you suffer from the Fear of Missing Out? Do social media and mobile devices provide a newer way to try to keep up with and outdo others?