When you have FOMO, remember YOLO

Losing a body part isn’t funny; I had to bid adieu to my gallbladder recently and it wasn’t a very pleasant experience (at the height of the pandemic-induced lockdown, no less). At least it (a) relieved me of my pain, giving me peace of mind, and (b) helped me overcome my mild case of trypanophobia. Fear is part of the human existence; I believe there’s absolutely no one in this world who doesn’t fear at least one thing.

Now, if you lose one of your technological parts, how would you react? And by that, I mean the gadgets you move around with on a daily basis. Let’s do a little roll call; laptops and tablets are disqualified since we’re considering those that stick to your body.

I’m quite sure all of us have a mobile phone, with an audio device a very close second since those two are partners; next up would be some sort of wrist wearable (smart watches and fitness bands included). You can throw in sunglasses with Bluetooth audio and/or a wearable air purifier, any variant of that, for good measure (there’s one face mask from Japan that can translate speech into eight different languages).

And… alright, just recently I went out with all of those on my body, and that wearable air purifier was probably the most bizarre thing I’ve ever put on, judging by the looks of those I came across with; if I had ears pointing upward I’d look exactly like Optimus Prime. I could live without that, along with the sunglasses, since that would overlap with my wireless headset and spectacles.

Which leads us to the top three: Leaving any of those would, in theory, drive you nuts.

Phone? It’s almost impossible you’d leave that behind since, let’s face it. Before setting out for your commute or drive, you’d give that one last look.

Wrist wearable? Not really — unless you track your workout with that, maybe. Time is displayed on your phone, anyway.

Audio thingy? Now that would irritate me; I’ve gotten so used to listening to what I want while going from one point to another that leaving this behind somehow makes me feel lost in the noise of busy streets or public transport.

Never mind the adage of ‘feeling naked’ if you leave one something you always have anywhere. That philosophy has seemingly evolved; ever felt ‘empty’ when you leave one of those behind? And even more terrifyingly, imagine the horror of running out of battery on any or all of those.

The dawn of the 21st century saw the coining of FOMO — the fear of missing out — but without the ability to foresee the future, it was unimaginable how the effects of tech would take over our lives that we have tendencies — some with really worse ones — to, indeed, get all cringed up when we miss something, whether that be a social media post, some update, or even a message you were expecting that never came for some reason.

I’ve always said I have many distractions at home, and tech plays a big part in that. Aside from those stated above, I still have my laptop and gaming console to deal with, each with varying degrees of use depending on my mood. While indeed there are positives to be reaped (it relaxes me to game, for example), there are also consequential not-so-good effects (like leaving dishes unwashed for several hours, overnight even).

Not to forget our relationships with others. When was the last time you refused to video-call or even chat with a loved one far away because you were, well, ‘distracted’? I’ll admit I’m guilty as charged on a number of counts, especially when there’s this stupid zombie that refuses to die I want to whack my TV with the controller.

That said, you can’t help but draw the ironic parallels: The very thing that connects us is also the same thing that hinders us from doing so. YOLO — you only live once — to be too attached to something, or the lack thereof.

So try not to be too attached to anything — technology included; there are other more marvelous, edifying things you can do. Easier said than done. I know. You know. We all know.