F.O.M.O - Fear Of Missing Out

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Prateek
Mar 19, 2019   •  66 views

She stood before me as clear as anything I had ever seen before, she was rain to my drought, she was drug to my veins. Her eyes were the ocean, so full of life yet so uncertain. Those blue-green hue were her emotional currents, and before I could breathe, I was drowned in their depths.

Our online resume matched on “wedding.com “
The meeting was arranged by our respective family members so that we get to “know” each other. So typically middle class, thank you.The Middle class way of “broad thinking”.

Me:Hello
She:Hiii
(10 sec pause)
She: Can we sit??
Me:of course, odcxourse (excitement mistake)
“we sat in front of each other”
She was checking her phone,andI was zoned out for the moment. Was she googling !???
In my mind, I am googling too.“How to start a conversation “. And themind replied go with “how are you “?

“Just like a pop up notification” the waiter arrived
“Good evening sir and ma’am”. A perfectplastic smile is on his lips.
But even before“how are you”, I blurt,““what would you like to have?” I blurt. (Waiter in process , beforebefore marriage)

She looked at me for the first time “’eye to eye“. THE FIRST WAVE of love hit me hard...
For a while, I couldn’t think of anything to say.
But her two frequent “eyebrow moments“, urged“tell, tell”
(Back to reality!)
One mojito.“You?” She asked.
“Same ..same", I reply, as though hypnotized.
We order food.
After a while, I finally say something right. “How are you?“ I ask.
“Fine, all good. And you,? she asks.
I smile and nod.I’m choosing the right phrase inside my head and my vocal cordis about to producethose thoughts into words ….when she goes:

“You know my friends are going to the pub. But I missed it.
How come? I asked.(DROP A QUESTION).
Because of you!! Improvisation. “Because we planned to meet here right? She says.
You know I love bike rides, and I want to go to this place ….
(and in between this one-sided conversion, where my part Is to nod, smile and drop the next question. )

Arrived the mojitos and the food.
Then the intervention of phone, followed by click, post, #tag, caption, share, time, mood, “Sunday “ edit, background music … -

Our MIND BLOWING conversation continued, although it was more like a “listening session “

(after 10 long minutes )

Usual interruption of stats and numbers start coming up...
·73 likes
·6 comments
Wait, what!! She is online but she still didn’t like my post.she is a bitch! I’m telling you, jealous people around the world, are the main cause for global warming nowadays.

(No question pop up - to drop , the wiring of my brain got blown away by her response )
A few minutes later…
“Oh,she liked it just now.She’s quite nice actually. She must have somehow missed my post”.
“You know, she is planning to go to the US this summer . I wish I could travel with her. I would be updating my statusevery now and then, google, amazon, apple ,big companies.. It's going to be exciting!She keeps going.

(Nod, smile and “agreement with disagreement “)
Date over so does that character from my life.

FOMO – FEAR OF MISSING OUT
This is the ritual of clicking pics and giving updatesbefore every cup of “cappuccino” , before every vodka shot or any drink that you paid for.“the amount of datasaved insidehuman memory is less than the amount of data being saved in phone ,“GALLERY"

An era of“perfection and plastic “
The fiction world of social media from slim-fit perfect girls to hot and handsome guys to luxury cars and branded makeup tutorials.. Happy people allover the world, celebrities popping up from one end of the screen,streaming live.Life seems so perfect, every second,someone is busy portraying their picture perfect life.

Is it really so perfect?

The “Fake, plastic”era has emerged quickly and exponentially. The definition of success has changed these days, and one feels being successful in life is one step ahead in one’s peer group.Well that’s not a success!That’s a sickness!People are copying somebody, who is copying somebody …and no one knows what they are actually doing.. Where is that sense of individuality?

…..
Well as she turned back, flipping her hair from left to right and back ..that surge of love hit me again.

For a moment I had the “FEAR OF MISSING OUT “
But “I choose me, over her “.

Don’t trade off your mental healthand well being for :
“Love , money , approval , or status “

(happy reading ,
stay tuned.)

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Profile of Unik Angle
Unik Angle  •  4y  •  Reply
This was impressive
Profile of Privini Devindi
Privini Devindi  •  5y  •  Reply
Very insightful piece of writing rightly discussing the meaninglessness of modern lifestyle which only a few would even attempt to understand. All the very best and Keep up the good work dear friend!
Profile of Privini Devindi
Privini Devindi  •  5y  •  Reply
Very insightful piece of writing rightly discussi
Profile of Prateek
Prateek   •  5y  •  Reply
thanks ,Rajashree. for your valuable comment
Profile of Prateek
Prateek   •  5y  •  Reply
sure, I will try my best to make it more informative.
Profile of Rajashree Ns
Rajashree Ns  •  5y  •  Reply
Wow... Don’t trade off your mental health and well being for : “Love , money , approval , or status “ loved this line
Profile of Surajit Bagti
Surajit Bagti  •  5y  •  Reply
The story was impressive, I really liked it, But should be more focused with the main content, for me that was least informational.