FOMO while at a public urinal

“What was getting me was the sense that I was being manipulated, that someone was controlling my attention. I’d login with seemingly innocent intentions-to see what friends were up to, or if anyone appreciated what I’d shared-and plan to spend just a couple of minutes doing it. But of course it never ended up being “just a couple of minutes.” Inevitably it would turn into quite a few “couple of minutes.” I’d glance at the clock upon logging out and feel an ache of regret. Did I really just burn up that much time?! Monstrous fortunes have been invested to engineer social media to be as seductive, irresistible and addictive as possible.”-Dawn Chandler: walking away from social media-one year later. 

I was at a concert this past weekend and needed to make a pit stop.

The person using the urinal next to me was doing an excellent job of scrolling through social media on his phone with one hand while using his other hand, appropriately, to aim.

I wanted to laugh and/or comment but decided not to.

I walked away from social media about two years ago.

The “fear of missing out (FOMO)” does still resonate with me to a degree, especially regarding life events for friends with whom paths don’t cross often anymore.

I could work social media back into my daily routine now, but will need to continue to ponder.

I have experienced an increased sense of contentment since walking away and, fortunately, was never the topic of a blog post for FOMO while at a public urinal.