Concert Craze & FOMO

Written by Annabella Hadassa Soepringgo

“Yo, did you come to my party last week? It was crazy! You should’ve come! Man, that was the

night of our lives!”

Don’t you just hate it when this happens? When a friend of yours brags about how much fun

they had at a party, or when they ramble about something they did, places they went to, people

they hung out with, etc.

If you said yes, then you probably have FoMO.

In the rare case you’ve made it this far without ever having heard the term FoMO, let me

elaborate. FoMO, an abbreviation for ‘Fear of Missing Out’, is a feeling of apprehension one

feels when one misses out on an event – whether it be a social gathering, a formal event, or

even something casual like hanging out with friends.

A prime example of FoMO: Concert craze.

Remember Blackpink’s concert back in March? Or Coldplay’s upcoming concert in November?

Getting tickets for those concerts was absolutely wild. The number of problems that sprouted

just because of concert tickets? Way too many. Fans were not only competing against each

other for the tickets, but they competed against robots who bought those tickets the minute they

were out. Sure, we live in a society where everything is “survival of the fittest”, but who’d guess

that’d include fighting for concert tickets?

Okay, but what does FoMO have anything to do with concert craze? What connects the two

ideas together?

You can already tell where I’m going with this, right?

Concerts are often labeled as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They’re the kind of event you

really don’t want to miss out on. Concerts are great opportunities to create iconic and

memorable memories. And besides, you get to tell your friends and families about it, boast

about the time you had.

Anyway, back to FoMO. When you start to feel intimidated by other people’s activities,

especially when they sound like they’re having the time of their lives, you tend to feel envious of

them. You want to have the time of your life, too. You want to experience the thrill and

excitement, and most importantly, you want to be able to show it off to your friends and families.

In the end, it’s just a way to justify that you’re an interesting person, too.

Isn’t it ironic though? We feel as though we have to constantly show off the things we did,

places we went to or people we went out with just so others can look at us and admit we are

interesting. And, oddly, we continue to do this even though we know very well we aren’t defined by any of it. Even something as big and iconic as going to a concert doesn’t define us. (If you

actually did think so, then maybe you should go see a therapist).

We humans aren’t defined by the things around us but by ourselves. Our personality, our heart,

our brain, our skills, etc. Going to concerts is cool and all, but even if you don’t, it won’t make

you any less fun or interesting. In fact, there are a handful of other things you can do that would

be much more interesting than going to a concert. You can spend your time and money on

sharpening skills you already have or with your friends and families. Maybe you can learn how

to bake a pie or go watch a movie.

“But that’s not as cool or interesting as going to a concert!”

So? Who cares?

If we’re looking at it from a realistic perspective, attending concerts can be tasking and

inconvenient. Tickets are expensive and hard to get, the crowds are rowdy and noisy, and do I

even want to begin with how uncomfortable and dangerous it is at concerts?

(Of course, I’m not trying to critique anyone who does go to concerts. There’s nothing wrong

with it. Live music is good every once in a while.)

Anyway, your life isn’t defined by the concerts you attend, the movies you watch, or the events

you go to. You define yourself..

You’re not missing out on anything.