Yello's Personal Thoughts
← Back
October 10, 2024 - When FOMO turns into jealousy
It's human nature to compare ourselves to people who seem to have it all. I'd like to think I'm above it, but who am I kidding? I'm prone to jealously like everyone else. A sore point for me is when I watch people spend frivilously on nice things, particularly something gaming related. Usually, vacation pictures or nice shoes I see online don't usually invoke any reactions out of me. But for some reason, if it's someone getting an extra copy of a game that I can't get or it's people flying to Japan to shop at the Pokémon Centers, I can't help but wonder what I'm doing wrong for those expenses to not even be a possibilty for me.
The short answer is that I grew up with a money-first mindset. I feel like there are three camps when it comes to spending money for pleasure. My camp, which are those who prioritize saving as much money as possible and every extra expense feels like a knife to their wallet. The second camp consists of those who favor experiences above all else. They tend to have a YOLO mindset, where they want to do everything that they dream of doing before they're too old, even if it risks their financial stability. And the third camp is a healthy balance between the two ideals...must be nice. Money is simply too powerful for our monkey brains, to be honest.
And you've already heard this before, but social media exposure makes this jealousy SO much worse. It's funny how I'd watch videos of FOMO and it's about regular people who feel bad for not being invited to a party, while I'm here coping about the fact that Pokémon Leafgreen is way too expensive in 2024. Both completely first world problems, but both fuel that fear of missing out. I think I feel particularly sensitive to gaming FOMO because it's such a personal hobby for me. It's wild how the gaming culture right now is to consume as many games as quickly as possible. So whether or not I'd like to acknowledge it, being a gamer means I'm inherently missing out on SO many experiences outside of my bubble.
In my little gaming corner, I mostly keep it to myself and my close group of friends. So it's a little strange whenever I'm on YouTube and I see massive game hauls or travel vlogs to gaming conventions all over my page, as if it's a normal part of life...but it's simply not. I need to remember that most people need to save up for months to go on that extravagant trip to Pokémon Worlds, or they're actually walking a fine line on their credit card bill. Nobody likes to say that they're struggling financially when they post about their experiences. So why should I treat it as a benchmark for my own journey?
It's really opened my eyes to even how I'm manipulated by the power of social media. It's a necessary evil to continue using the Internet, but next time, I don't want to react to someone else's highlight with jealousy, because that means I'm not happy with my life. And I'm not about that mindset.