More FOMO and more… ROMO: What these terms mean and how they’ve affected the new generation

You’ve probably already heard of FOMO (fear of missing out).

But another trend seems to be replacing that particular definition in the eyes of Internet users, known as ROMO (relief of missing out).

The development of social networks and the online world has given rise to a well-known phenomenon: FOMO, which is particularly prevalent among young people.

This phenomenon is often caused by the excessive use of the internet, always with the aim of not losing the slightest bit of information.

But amid an increasingly stressful political, health and economic environment, more and more Internet users are turning away from the news.

Instead, they will voluntarily avoid the media, as well as any digital technology that might give them news. So much so that some are relieved to have missed one or more news “events”. This has seen the concept of ROMO pop up online, referring to ‘relief of loss’, i.e. the relief of being unaware of an event or news.

Therefore, ROMO is opposed to FOMO, except that this phenomenon specifically affects the world of news and less the world of social media trends.

The term FOMO was first used by Patrick McGinnis in 2004, who was then a student at Harvard Business School in the US.

It also refers to the fear of missing out on a highly publicized event, such as a party that everyone is going to.

Therefore, the term also applies outside the digital realm.

It even has an antonym. This is called JOMO (Joy of missing out), for ‘joy of missing out’, describing the pleasure associated with missing out, such as enjoying a quiet night on the sofa.

A definition they use a lot in their daily lives after the Covid-19 quarantine.

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