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The fear of missing out is about the fear of lost social connection.

November 13, 2025 / 00:47

This episode discusses the concept of FOMO, or fear of missing out, focusing on its psychological aspects and social implications. Key topics include the nature of FOMO, its distinction from anxiety, and the social bonding that occurs during events.

The hosts explain that FOMO is not solely about missing events, but rather about the connections and bonding experiences that happen during those events. They highlight that even negative events, such as funerals, can trigger FOMO due to the social interactions involved.

They further clarify that FOMO is more accurately described as anxiety, which stems from cognitive perceptions. This anxiety leads individuals to imagine what they might be missing, often inflating the significance of the events in question.

TL;DR

FOMO is about social bonding, not just events; it's rooted in anxiety over perceived missed connections.

Episode

0:47
00:00:00
First thing is it's not about the event.
00:00:02
So you can feel FOMO even for a negative
00:00:04
event.
00:00:05
>> Your friends might go to a funeral and
00:00:07
you regret not being there because your
00:00:09
friends were bonding over things that
00:00:12
happened at the funeral. It's not the
00:00:13
event per se. It's the bonding. The
00:00:16
other thing that we discovered the more
00:00:17
we did research on it was that it's not
00:00:20
really a fear. It's more like an
00:00:22
anxiety. And the difference is is an
00:00:25
anxiety is kind of cognitive. It's the
00:00:28
way you think about it. So, you're
00:00:30
imagining what you're missing out and it
00:00:33
may be you're not may be missing out on
00:00:36
that much. It's just that you think
00:00:38
you're missing out on it.
00:00:41
[music]
00:00:45
>> [music]

Episode Highlights

  • Understanding Anxiety vs. Fear
    The research reveals that FOMO is more about cognitive anxiety than fear.
    “It's not really a fear. It's more like an anxiety.”
    @ 00m 17s
    November 13, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • It's not really a fear. It's more like an anxiety.
    The fear of missing out is about the fear of lost social connection.
  • You're imagining what you're missing out on.
    The fear of missing out is about the fear of lost social connection.

Key Moments

  • Bonding Over Loss00:05
  • Cognitive Anxiety00:17

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