Deepak Raj Joshi

Are you still checking emails, messages, and social networks?
Do you count the ‘likes’ of and ‘shares’ of a status and do you feel anxious if people have not given you enough attention with their thumbs up and ‘likes’? Are you stressed so that you do not miss something and you will be the last to know?
You may not realise it, but you do have a serious problem. Smart phones have now become part of our everyday lives, and while they have made some positive changes in our lives, on the other hand, we have paid or are paying a serious price for it.  If you cannot imagine life without a smart phone and social media, it’s a early sign that you’ve become a victim of the an evil power of social media technology.
Smart Phones
We cannot imagine everyday life without a cell phone. Many things are done nowadays with the smart phones. Smart phones fill our brains with stress and fear, blocking and causing anxiety, depression cyber Braking,  Fear of lack of information, Unrealistic expectations, Negative impact on self-esteem, Unhealthy sleep, Addiction, Social pressure, loss of reality,  bullying on the Internet, Distraction,  and procrastination. Actually, it’s not the Smart phones that is addictive, it’s the services that are connected to it.
FOMO, or fear of missing out, or social anxiety, which makes us feel like we are missing something at a time when friends are doing something particularly fun. Social media posts that make us feel that we are not experiencing life to the fullest often cause this anxiety.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twiter and many other social media platforms are an attractive social network. It can help you connect with people, serve your ideas, and your business. It can entertain you, or a number of other things, including harming you.
The arrival of social networks has contributed to the increase in fear of missing something. This is because there are many people posting their glamorous lives on social media, which often gives others a feeling of missing something by failing to meet the standards set by glamorous people.

Curious About Others
Nowadays, social media makes many people even more curious about other people’s lives. We want to know how his job is, his wealth, relationships, lifestyle, what they buy, where they go, what they eat,  what they wear even how their daily activities are.
Human beings have a tendency to fear that we are missing something, mainly because we are a species that tries to avoid risks. Social media fosters the fear of missing something (FOMO).
The fear of missing something is the anxiety that some people suffer from missing a good moment, a fun moment, with friends or family. Social networks promote this sensation and the people who suffer from it are connected all the time, to always be up to date with what is happening.
Anxiety is something that can trigger excessive stress and depression in a person. According to a study, anxiety can disrupt the production of important hormones in the body such as serotonin and adrenaline. Insomnia, lack of appetite, headaches, and mood swings can all occur when the hormones in your body are out of balance.
Keep your head where your feet are.  Stop checking what others are doing. If you realise that social networking apps make you not live in the moment and be happy where you are, consider removing them from your phone for a few weeks. When you worry about missing something, you’re actually missing out on what’s most important in your own life.
You don’t have to keep your eyes glued to the screen for 12 hours a day. You can do many other activities.  Be sure to mute the phone (vibrate), turn off the message, Do not put the phone in your bed, Don’t carry it to the toilet, kitchen, or bedroom,  use a traditional alarm clock.
Use screen time tools, Stop checking emails after eight in the evening and before eight in the morning,  Schedule face-to-face meetings instead of making phone calls, go to the bookstore,  buy a paper book, have a coffee, and don’t have your phone with you, Exercise,  meditate, go for walk,  meet and enjoy with friends and family. Enjoy moments with yourself and in silence.  Do Social Media Intermittent Fasting.

Go With Flow
Life comes closer to us if we stop, obey, and go with the flow.  When it comes that’s the time to live, Enjoy, notice, and experience life. We just have to distinguish what is important to us, which is important to our loved ones, listen to what our hearts are really saying. That is the only way we will not lose anything.
It is true that social media is a place for us to stay connected even if we do not want but do not let the relationships on social media actually ruin your life. we ignore life in the real world giving too much focus on the virtual world.
Instead of constantly trying to keep up with the ever-changing situations on social media, JOMO (The Joy of Missing Out) allows you to be who you really are. Sometimes it’s good to isolate yourself from the world of possibilities.
You Only Live Once (YOLO) so Forget FOMO (fear of missing out) and embrace  JOMO (The Joy of Missing Out), your life will be happy.  Remember, Focus on things matter to you. Focus on the process, not on the result. Focusing on the essentials makes you happy. ‎Life will be joyful if you change the context of life not the content of life.

(Joshi is Managing Director at New Millennium College)