FOMO vs. JOMO – Offline with Digital Detox!

The summer is here, the days are getting longer and the holidays are coming soon. Finally more time for outdoor activities and the chance to enjoy the sun. What can’t be missing on such a beautiful day? The smartphone, of course, so we can show everyone on Instagram how great our life is once again. And, of course, to check out in between what the others are doing. Social networks have made comparisons with other people unavoidable. And FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) as the first social media disease has become more and more present.

The beautiful life of others makes you ill

The perfect family, exotic long-distance journeys, professional success and extraordinary hobbies are apparently reserved only for other people. The permanent flow of information shows us at any time what we miss, don’t experience or don’t own. And exactly this falsified perception can lead to permanent health problems (such as anxiety and depression). What feeling does the idea of a one-week separation of mobile phone, PC, and tablet trigger in you? Panic? Fear? Stress? Or relief?

Countertrend JOMO!

A health-promoting approach is the counter-movement JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out = joy to miss something). Nobody has to ban all modern technologies from their private and professional environment. It is much more important to learn how to use digital media in a meaningful and healthy way. Digital Detox is about deliberately staying away from digital consumption for a limited period of time and focusing on oneself and one’s analogue fellow human beings. In order to protect oneself from cheating, the company Samsung offers an off-line box for Smartphones. The mobile phone is stored in the small, transparent safe, and the box can only be opened again after a pre-determined period of time. These self-determined offline moments ensure more peace and composure, reduce stress, promote creativity and productivity – so digital purification is also a relevant parameter in company health management. According to the motto “working smart and healthy”, clear structures and rules must be agreed within the company. For example, when employees have to be available. Digital detox cures are also offered in the tourism industry. Even Silicon Valley introduced a mobile phone Sabbath on Fridays: This provides for new ideas and higher employee motivation.

3 reasons for Digital Detox

1. Prevention of short-sightedness:

The constant staring at the display and the small font causes an increased number of short-sighted people.

2. Mindfulness of our environment:

Shortly before getting off the bus we notice that a friend has taken a seat two rows down. The chance for a nice chat is gone – but we have spent 30 minutes surfing the net.

3. Improving mental health through self-reflection:

Just be happy to distance yourself from the lives of others and not know what is going on at the moment. According to the motto: I do my own thing and that’s a good thing!

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A good tip at the end

The own life, the own needs and goals should have a higher priority in the future. Regardless of any likes or comments from the community. Experience and appreciate moments with all your senses – without thinking: Should I post this in my story now? Because I can remember special events, new experiences and valuable encounters even without a photo in the feed. So, let’s go into the dead zone! Finally, an amusing reading tip: David Foster Wallace manages with his book “This Is Water” to inspire us to think and explains in just a few pages that we all have the choice to think what we want. And subsequently, how we act.

Author

Prof. Dr. Claudia Kardys

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER

Prof. Dr. Claudia Kardys’ job is to advise as a senior project manager in modern occupational health and safety and to support companies of different sizes and sectors in the introduction, establishment and evaluation of health-promoting projects (BGF) up to a holistic BGM. In addition to her passion and enthusiasm for interventions to maintain and promote a safe and healthy working environment, she enjoys managing and accompanying learning processes for the professional actionability and personality development of students. Her career tip for you is: “It is not enough to know, you have to apply it; it is not enough to want it, you have to do it”. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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