FOMO Without Feeds Just Mysterious Silence

I avoid social media and it makes me feel out of touch. Am I hurting myself by staying away, and how do I deal with the fear of missing out?

Fomo Over Silent Scrolling,
Analog Ghost Account

You are not out of touch. You are out of their touch. There is a difference, and it matters like the difference between opting out of a cult and forgetting to RSVP to a brunch.

Social media is a crowded elevator where everyone is loudly pitching their personal brand and pretending the smell is confidence. You stepping out of that elevator is not a weakness, it is power.

The trick is to stop acting like you are behind and start acting like you are unavailable.

Here is what you do. You flaunt the absence. When someone asks why they cannot find you, you give them a calm little half-smile like you are protecting an endangered species, and you say you keep a low profile.

Then you go one step better. You let a rumor breathe that you have a secret account, and you never confirm it, because confirmation is for amateurs and customer support. People will start treating you like a limited release sneaker: annoying, mysterious, and somehow worth chasing.

And the fear of missing out? Replace it with the fear of being too easy to access. Your life is not a free sample tray. If somebody wants updates, they can call you like it is a radical new invention, and if that makes them uncomfortable, good, growth hurts.

You are not hurting yourself by staying away. You are choosing the kind of life that does not require a constant status report, and that is the whole point.

– Uncle Bobby