by Kina Velasco, Year 11
Snapchat, an incredibly innovative and enjoyable platform to share moments with others, is the fastest growing social media app today. However, it inevitably leads to FOMO (fear of missing out), especially with the recent addition of its feature, ‘Stories.’ This is essentially a montage of 1-10 second spur-of-the-moment images or videos, adorned with an array of emojis and witty captions, which create a 24-hour narrative. These are captured in the moment, available for everyone to see what you are doing, where you are, and who you are with.
15-year-old Ruby Karp wrote a piece for Mashable, outlining her opinion that Snapchat exists as the “main thing that triggers my teenage FOMO”. She also confesses, “I always feel like I need to know what everyone is doing, secretly hoping it isn’t better than what I’m doing.” It is obvious that Ruby has a love-hate attitude towards Snapchat, and even more so its Stories feature, suggesting they give “bragging rights more than anything”. Although Stories are largely meant to inform, amuse, or generate positive emotions, Ruby still remarks that they “can make an insecure girl feel awful”.
While Ruby’s admissions are definitely identifiable--particularly for us teenagers--it is important to understand that it is completely normal not to attend each and every single ‘Storied’ event. It should be recognized that everyone experiences FOMO once in awhile and that you are not alone. Actively posting and sharing media with others should by no means be stopped by this; however, distinguishing between reality and feigned moments remains key. Maybe focusing on what you have rather than wishing for what you don’t will help. A little gratitude can’t hurt.
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