#FOMO – The Reason Why I Deleted My Snapchat This Summer.

Hey guys. I wanted to talk about an issue which has been an issue since, I guess the beginning of year 10 (in year 10 you're 14-15). I’ve never really had this issue previously but it became set in stone once the issue was a re-occurring thing to the point where I searched on it and the issue actually had a name – FOMO.

So what is FOMO? 

Some of you may know this term, some of you might not know this term but there's a strong possibility that you're probably going through it.
FOMO is basically short for ‘fear of missing out’. That’s pretty much self-explanatory but to develop my point further, I personally feel that FOMO is a long-extended family member of anxiety. At least I believe it is the consequence of it. Now at the beginning of year 10, I would not say I had anxiety.

Not at all.

The beginning of year 11, yes! I had really bad anxiety up until December I would say. So for roughly 4 months I had really bad anxiety. However that’s a different story.
But coming back to FOMO, this got worse throughout my year 11 experience, especially when starting exam season. I deffo had it at the beginning of year 10, but it wasn’t as strong, repetitive or ‘deep’. Plus I didn’t have Snapchat in year 10.

I did in year 11.

I created the app in February this year because my prom was coming up and I wanted to see the snapchat stories and I also wanted to upload moments from my birthday which was in March (All this occurred this current year).
Overall I just wanted to share my birthday and experience prom from different people's perspectives however this eventually led to feeling obligated to snap things to PROVE I had a social life.
Not knowing that I would end up feeling hurt or offended when I saw friends who I considered close to me, do things without me.
Not knowing I would become quite petty, jealous and bitter. And best believe that is not who I am.

What fun is an app that is causing you to think, dream or imagine certain scenarios in your head (partying, going out, "turning up") that is anything but your life?

In other words, Snapchat messed up my mentality.

I was someone who had taken 2 steps forward, only to jump 5 steps back. Imagine having to watch people enjoy themselves without you. But you on the other end is doing nothing.

It feels as if you're behind. As if you're missing out on life. As if you're not part of this big trend and you're just isolated. As if you're not good enough because you're not travelling and being successful like every blogger/YouTuber you see.
I am a sensitive person. So often to protect myself from feeling unbreakable, I give off a careless facade. And sometimes I don't care or feel anything when watching others go out and have fun. But sometimes I do care and that's the kind of thing that will make me over-think.

I began to feel distant and just pissed off.

It was annoying because I felt like most people were just not being 100% with me.
Of course that might not be the case, but that’s just how I felt. I couldn’t help it. I recently had a chat with one of my closest friends about this (if she’s reading- shout out to you girl!) And we were basically talking about the issue and I poured out most of how I felt because I hate feeling confused and out of control – like it will frustrate me to the point that's all I can talk or think about.
Now if I didn’t have Snapchat, 9/10 I wouldn’t be as affected as I am. Simply because I wouldn’t have to see that. What you don’t know, cannot hurt you. But I do have Snapchat which means I am able to watch everyone else have a great time whilst I am currently at home – watching them have a great time.

Now it’s time for Jessy to become all realistic.

I know Snapchat is legit a collection of mini clips that the person looks amazing in, they’re looking all happy and just enjoying themselves. I am wise enough to know that doesn’t represent the whole picture, it doesn’t represent the person. (The history student side of me is coming out now.) Overall, to put it simply – Snapchat is a bit joke.
It’s funny because it reveals a lot of truths. Snapchat is a platform that a person can cleverly carve and design an image of themselves for you to see. I have definitely gone through that stage.
From the party addict, to the shopper, to the ‘I’ve got loads of friends’ to the ‘I be getting money’. But what I’ve had to actually deep is that Snapchat is not all black and white. People are just showing that they have a life and what they do. That’s it.

They’re not going to show me the negatives. They’re not going to show me their boring day to day routine. They’re not going to show me the whole thing. They’re going to show me things to make me believe that they’re lives are ‘lit’ or exciting. When God knows: they could just be lounging at home in sweats watching flipping ‘Location, location, location’.
I knew it was time to delete when I was letting little things get to me. Since when did I get all salty because someone didn’t reply to my message (although that is muggy behaviour – don’t do it!)? I have never felt before having the app that I was obligated to prove that I had a life. Now all of a sudden – I couldn’t go somewhere fun without trying to catch a Snapchat. I couldn’t just LIVE in the moment. All of a sudden I’m with a group of friends – let me snap it!
Nah – that’s just not letting things take it's natural course if I feel like I have to do it to prove something.
Please do not get me wrong, Snapchat is a great app. To record snippets of your life as stories that can be watched later on, that’s great; plus the filters are just 100%. In the future, I may get it back for the long haul.

But when does getting offended, hurt, rejected or upset when witnessing somebody’s actions on Snapchat become normal?

To anyone going through this, understand that it’s not always what it looks like. From watching my prom snaps, one can believe it was honestly the best day ever. But there was a lot of things not documented. A video/image can be twisted to suit somebody’s ideal image for their own perspective/satisfaction or even insecurity. Please don’t be fooled. Understand that not everyone is what they ‘post to be’! I could write an essay on this topic because it has given me a serious 'wake the hell up' call.
Grow your mind organically by indulging in real life. As fun as Snapchat can be, it's not your life and that's where I went wrong. Of course the person could have had a great time but always remember – there’s more to the story… No pun intended *wink wink*
Until next time my lovelies xx
"Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war" - Lord of The Rings (I think Return of the King somewhere).

Simply, Jessy Tee