|
FOMO – the fear of missing out – can feel like the hallmark emotion of our times. Bummed you couldn’t make drinks with co-workers. Disappointed to have to skip a kid’s soccer game. Sad you couldn’t commit to a weekend away with friends. The opportunities for FOMO seem endless.
But FOMO about working the crappy shift at your job? Or going to a friend’s relative’s funeral? Cleaning up after a party? Those don’t really seem like super fun events that you can’t bear to miss.
Three marketing professors have been investigating various aspects of FOMO. Through a series of experiments, they’ve zeroed in on the critical part of FOMO: “missing out on interactions with people you value.” They’ve also identified a strategy to help you fend off FOMO before any anxiety starts spiraling.
This week we also liked articles about Sen. Cory Booker’s record-breaking speech, the Kennedy Center’s mission, and how the Catholic Church sees the right-to-die movement.
[ The latest on philanthropy and nonprofits. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Giving Today.]
|
They had so much fun without me.
Milko/E+ via Getty Images
Jacqueline Rifkin, Cornell University; Barbara Kahn, University of Pennsylvania; Cindy Chan, University of Toronto
Across a series of studies, researchers dug into what really triggered FOMO – and what worked to fend it off.
|
Sen. Cory Booker walks toward reporters after delivering a record-setting 25-hour speech for the U.S. Senate at the Capitol on April 1, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Charlie Hunt, Boise State University
In some cases, long Senate speeches don’t produce clear results. In other cases, they can help pass or prevent new legislation.
|
Donald Trump visits the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on March 17, 2025.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Joanna Dee Das, Washington University in St. Louis
The president has followed in the footsteps of Louis XIV of France and the czars of Russia, who operated national theaters as extensions of monarchical power.
|
|
|
-
David Garofalo, Kennesaw State University
Whether a galactic environment has the right conditions for habitable planets to form could depend on how the black hole in that galaxy is rotating.
-
Ron Barrett, Macalester College
At the viral chatter stage of an outbreak, pathogens are just starting to infect people in sporadic bursts. It’s a sign that a pandemic may be on the horizon.
-
Bob Fischer, Texas State University
There’s no single, simple way to assess whether bugs feel pain, but research is giving scientists a better understanding of their abilities.
|
|
The Conversation News Quiz | |
