We’ve All Got a Bad Case of FOMO

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Society is all about trends and fitting in. Remember when suddenly every kid in the United States had to have silly bandz? Or when Claire’s came out with the roll on lip gloss? Did you get some too or did you feel left out? The truth is, we’ve all got a very serious case of what’s referred to as “fear of missing out” or FOMO. Even the term FOMO was once upon a time a trend that news anchors reported on and laughed at! 


The term trending is used in reference to social media reports on a platform's most discussed topics connected by hashtags that are updated in real time. Now, the social media experts will tell you to use trending topics to gain followers or simply help get your name out there, but why else is it important? 


Trends when properly investigated can keep you from looking clueless because, in a way, what’s trending is the latest news. Granted it may not be what happened on the corner of Douglas and Eighth street, but it is the news of the internet which is a world of its own. If you don’t know what is trending, you may be seriously left out. 


But being left out isn’t the only risk. When topics are seriously trending, other topics become irrelevant and suddenly you're unpopular. If you’re a brand or an influencer and the trending topic is an ethical issue, you may want to take a stance so that your loyal followers know you’re not unethical or trying to ignore the importance of the issue. Cluelessness can be social suicide on topics as important as these. 


But trends aren’t only about the news or being relevant with your content. They can also give you a leg up on what works on social media. For instance, maybe a certain video is trending on TikTok and suddenly you want to create content similar to that piece. You do it and you’ve gained followers and platform visibility. This is the aspect of trends that social media experts recommend that helps you gain traction as a relevant name. 


So next time you go to post, check the trends, see if you’re missing out and if you are- change that

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