FOMO

FOMO: ‘anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media.’

Exam season. The most painstakingly boring period of your university experience. The reality that you will swapping your favourite bars and clubs for late-night library sessions during third term is certainly a bitter pill to swallow, and this taste is made all the more sour by the competitive world of social media.

When it comes down to it, FOMO is exactly what it stands for: the Fear Of Missing Out. I tend to suffer from bouts of FOMO during exam season when I scroll through my social media and see those who have either finished, or had no exams in the first place once again enjoying their lives. As a joint honours student, I have always found that my exams range from the very first day of the season…to the very last. So as you can imagine, the wait for freedom becomes excruciating as I sit back and watch my friends being liberated one by one.

There really is no cure for this affliction in our current social climate. Whilst social media is around, we will always have the idea that someone out there is having much more fun than we are shoved in our faces. It’s all part and parcel of the digital age. Does this mean that I am going to stop scrolling however? Unfortunately not.

The frustrations of exam season can be extremely hard to ignore, with most of us simply feeling fed up as the terms drags on, and as a sufferer of FOMO myself, I don’t really even have any advice to give. Just remember that even if you’re in it for the long haul like I am, it will all be over sooner than it seems. The perpetual boredom of this period can be agonising, but hopefully when the end is in sight, you’ll find that all the hard work, incessant reading and sober nights of third term have paid off.