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Bowen Shu

Instructor Andreea Corona

Linguistics 3C-T/R 3:00PM

10/23/2022

MLA Formatting- there should not be all that space- please review our MLA Format Guide

Missing a title The Cause of FoMO, and How to Address It

Living in this era with the widespread use of digital communication, people find

themselvesWF lost in the massive data stream as the enormous amount of information floods

into their devices ceaselessly. Under the pressure of such tremendous information online,

manylotsWC people claim they are experiencing FoMO—the fear of missing out when others

are sharing information and having a good time. The symptom of FoMO is often observed as

obsessive checking of social media during inappropriate times, which may cause great

distraction and interrupt normal life. In “Redesigning Social Media Platforms to Reduce FoMO,”

published in The Conversation, the trigger and harm of FoMO are introduced, and approaches to

encounter FoMO are demonstrated. Reinforced by the excessive amount of online information as

well as the current attention-seeking feature of social media, FoMO is harming people’s

wellbeing. Thus, social media platforms should be modified to relieve its overwhelming nature

and bring positive change. Relevant background details and clearly constructed thesis
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With the wide use of digital communication, the excessive amount of information online

makes people fear of missing information and frustrated at the same time. What’s more, the

obsessionWF on FoMO turns out to be medically damaging to human brain. In the article

“Redesigning Social Media Platforms to Redesign FoMO,” Raian Ali and John McAlaney

claims SV-AGR that the excessive amount of information online triggers FOMO. Rather than

following the common sense that FOMO is caused by the lack of connection, Ali and McAlaney

states that people fear missing information when they have various devices and social media

accountd and social media accounts and while having onlye “little time or desire to check them

all”. Ali and McAlaney gives an essential correction on the trigger of FOMO —— the excessive

amount of information that people receive daily. When the countless volume of information

accumulates, people gradually become too overwhelmed and have hard timesto processing all

of those data surrounding them, leading them to fear missing information and develop

undesirable behaviors eventually.

Separate longer ideas into multiple paragraphs and connect them with a linking phrase

BesidesFoMO, linked with excessive internet use, is also proved to be devouring people’s

health. Iin the article “FoMO, Digital Dementia, and Our Dangerous Experiment” by Larry

Dossey, a widely acknowledged survey from China Daily is presented, showing that internet

addiction such as FoMO redeuces SP gray matter in human brain. When comparing 18

university students who are defined as internet-addicted and 18 students who spend less than 2

hours per day on internet, sScientists found signs of atrophy of gray matter in the brains as well

as changes in the white matter lying below the gray-matter cortex of all the heavy Internet users

(Dossey). As FoMO leads people to check internet device repetitively for long time, the solid

research outcome provided by Dossey regarding the negative effect of addictive internet use on
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health also applies to FoMO and warn people ^ of the great harm of FoMO on health. Damage to

gray matter and white matter irreversibly suppresses brain’s function in memory, balance, and

mobility, not to mention the chance of having diseases# like Alzheimer’s may increase. In that

vein, besides triggering annoying actions like checking phones from time to timefrom time to

time, FoMO should be paid more receive higher attentionVF because it may lead to destructive

illnesses that last life-long. When the excessive amount of information is igniting fear of missing

out among people, and when FoMO tricks people into the trap of health threats, the current

media design feature should be blamed. Since the current social media is designed to draw

attention, people are afraid when they are not paying attention to others or losing others’

attention. This is a well-argued point with well-integrated references to sources

While people discuss the declining health of heavy internet users and the nervousness of

missing out, they give credit to FoMO, but who is the true suspect behind the curtain behind the

curtain? The answer points to the current social media design. The current design of online

platforms fixes its mere aim on drawing attention from the vast public from the vast public,

which triggers and magnifies FoMO. Without any stopping cues, the nowadays socialnowadays

media are “addictive.” In the TED talk “Why Oour Sscreens Mmake Uus Lless

Hhappy,”MLA according to Adam Alter, the social media nowadays do not have stopping cues:

people can keep rolling down while new contents pop up continuously, leaving us no clue where

and when to stop. Newspapers, a typical old-day’s media, always have an end page, which is the

stopping cue reminding people the end of the text. However, social media nowadays do not have

stopping cues are rarely seen on current :media. people are able to roll down pages without stop,

and Thus,the uncontrolled browsing exhausts peoplethe, evenm and decreasing ses their
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happiness when using social media. Besides, the current design of social media puts too much

emphasis on the feedback of other users, which creates a preoccupation with social connections.

Ali and McAlaney states, “Tthe basic feature of showing how many likes a post has received

may create a fear that the user is missing out on indicators of social approval – something that

has been demonstrated to be linked to emotional wellbeing.” They raise an important cause-

effect logic behindsWC between WC FoMO and social media. Since the tech companies place

great emphasis on the feedbacks# other users give, media users will automatically transfer their

attention to the number of likes or the comments they receive. Following this logic, data such as

the number of likes plays a role to symbolize the popularity or “attention” people receive. When

social media permeate into every corner of life and take over the casual respite from the social

world, people automatically connect the approvals they receive online with the approvals or

achievements in real life. Given that humans# are “fundamentally social creatures”, suggested

by Ali and McAlaney, people precious their onlineattach importance to feedback receivedsWC,

and develop obsessive actions like constant checking of social media to keep track of their

“emotional wellbeing.” What’s more, the misleading design of social media extends the fear of

missing out to guesses among relationships. According to Ali and McAlaney, people may

interpret a “unread” or unanswered massage as a “snub”, while the reality may just be that the

recipient loses wifi connection or enters a meeting. When people are evolved in such situations

and guessing blindly, they are strengthening their fear of missing out, which may open the rift

between relationships in real life. The design feature of social media reinforces FoMO

repetitively and harms people’s relationships#. Under such circumstances#, tech companies

have to step out to make adjustment to the current design. Another persuasive point

This space should not be here

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When users are suffering the anxiousness social media radiate, companies are utilizing

the pain FoMO imposes on people to make profits. In “‘Fear of Missing Out’(FoMO) Marketing

Appeals: A conceptual model,” Chris Hodkinson stresses that companies have wordings like

“missing out” in their advertising to attract customers. Such marketing strategies should be

abandoned as it may strengthen people’s FoMO as they are exposed to the concept of “fear” and

“missing out.” Companies should balance the conflict between social justice and making profit.

More importantly, as role models in society, huge tech companies should obligate the social

responsibility of people’s wellbeingWC and create a simplified design of social media to

relieve users’ FoMO. In “Redesigning Social Media Platforms to Reduce FoMO,” there is a

claim that technology can address the current problems in an intelligent and interactive way.

Some blueprints are suggested by the authors: setting personal priority lists, allowing easy

filtering, enabling people to specify their social interaction protocol, and inviting trusted third

parties to operate social media platforms. Ali and McAlaney propose an efficient idea of using

technology to solve the dilemma of FoMO. Regarding the five alternatives the authors offer,

social media platforms are deprived of the attention-seeking nature. Thus, acquiring the

opportunity to enjoy more freedom and initiative, users get rid of the toxic media system and

turns “FoMO” to an organized and pleasant life. On the other hand, people should figure out

their own ways to cope with FoMO. In the TED talk, Alter indicates that “We should avoid

checking mobile devices when doing specific activities every day, and forming this habit greatly

enhances happiness in life.” A surge of happiness in life can be achieved by voluntarily forming

a good habit that controls the time we spend with mobile devices. In conclusion, shouldering the

social responsibility of people’s happiness, tech companies should sacrifice part of their profit
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and establish transition to a user-oriented social media. Also, to modulate emotions, users should

also develop a good habit in using social media themselves. Well-synthesized ideas from sources

FoMO is harming the wellbeing of both individuals and the whole society to a dramatic

extent. The overwhelming amount of information and attention-seeking nature of social media

design triggers people’s fear of missing out and make people to start guessing within

relationships. As the trigger itself, the current social media design should be modified to be a

simpler and more user-friendly carrier of information. Tech companies should fulfill the

obligation to purifyWC improveWC current social media, and the massive public should

understand the danger of FoMO and form a healthy habit of using mobile devices. Both of the

factors are of great significance in addressing FoMO. With joint effort, the issue of FOMO can

be solved soon, and the well-being of general public will be enhanced. Valuable final reflections

and reocmmendations

(Word Count: 14987)

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Works Cited

Alter, Adam. “Why our screens make us less happy.” TED.com. TED Conferences, LLC.

April 2017

https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_alter_why_our_screens_make_us_less_happy

Ali, Raian and McAlaney, John. “Redesigning Social Media Platforms to Reduce

FoMO.” The Conversation, 29, January 2020

Dossey, Larry. “FOMO, Digital Dementia, and Our Dangerous Experiment.”

Explorations. Academia.edu. March/April 2014

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https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44832931/1-s2.0-S1550830713003479-main-

with-cover-page-v2.pdf?

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QTB0eghW0v4eu1scLNUHBfIRoydGue20Hp8af47jxh~J-oZYRZzM1qDeQ4UUT88-

I0MsWAwJwaP4qz1Zr2SjiyMiPh7cP5YkIHq15~fnnw2XxZ3mHoHoL0eIpEkC7RCejl9cccrg4

eqin6ogg9NStHH4-

jf1Xq1ZmMZPAyan5XlzBJ86sEbK2e5hwMh1ww7G8h3KmqC8YX3htDNyhrvH58exh6eaI9

x5hkA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

Hodkinson, Chris. “‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) Marketing Appeals: A Conceptual

Model.” Taylor &Francis Online. Journal of Marketing Communications. 05, October

2016

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527266.2016.1234504

Overall, your essay provides an interesting overview of the concept of fear and the way in

which this relates to the aspect of gender. My main suggestions for improving this essay are to

provide more cohesion/links across paragraphs by linking your main ideas, and use proper MLA

in-text citations by reviewing our MLA Format Guide and our MLA presentation slides from

Week 4. You can also revise for some grammar and word choice errors- I pointed out some but

not all.

94%
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