JOMO trumps FOMO, writes Shweta Bachchan Nanda

The weekend is upon us!!! In a parallel world, my 18- year-old has upended the contents of her closet because she cannot find something to wear out clubbing. Many frantic calls later, we have tackled the issue of “What shall I wear?” and are well into the “How do I look?” phase of the evening. She has negotiated herself an extension on her deadline and into a pair of my favourite boots. It has left me exhausted! I do not envy the young their endless enthusiasm for being where it’s at, mainly because I have been there, done that, and eschew any kind of commercialisation of emotional memory that would require me to buy the proverbial T- shirt!

Here’s a list of reasons why JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) prevails over FOMO.
1. Being everywhere you’re asked to is over-eager, and that is never pretty.
2. The hashtags #aboutlastnight #------diaries. Overused, unimaginative and oh-so unnecessary.
3. Pretty much rule-of- thumb. The more you expect out of a person, place or party, the higher your chances of disappointment.
4. After a while, you realise venues change, but the crowd is always the same! You’d rather scroll through your Facebook feed. You’ll get the gist without having to make small talk or dressing up!
5. Conversation fatigue. I once met a person three nights in a row and she told me the same story three times over. Unless you’re discovering a new continent, there is no way you have anything new to tell people you bump into serially.
6. Winged eyeliner and red lips. If I have to spend one more night either painting it on my face or meeting people who have done the same I am going to scream! It’s way too much effort to make just so you look like everyone else!
7. Those books aren’t going to read themselves. Stay in, read a book, learn something. Bright people are interesting.
8. Cut down your carbon footprint.
9. Waking up fresh and motivated from a night in is way better than hungover and cranky (unless you’re a teenager, in which case, hungover and cranky is your personality and you’re excused).
10. This is perhaps my most compelling reason for having JOMO. Very few people spend time with themselves anymore. Which could be the reason why there has been an exponential rise in jerks. Do the world a favour. Stay in, you’re not missing anything you can’t make up for the next time round.