After working rigorously for so many days in the office, I decided to take a break and go for a vacation to Jaipur with my wife and parents. It was a pleasant morning when we started from Delhi and by the time we reached Jaipur, it was noon and pretty warm. As we entered the lobby of a 5-star hotel, we were left spellbound. It was miraculously beautiful and the hotel-staff extended a very cordial welcome to us. We were really looking forward to be spending two days in that beautiful hotel. Since most of my friends keep updating Facebook about their trips to different locations, I thought it’s my turn now to tell them how great I am feeling at this hotel. So, I posted an update on Facebook- “Having a lovely time with my family @***** Hotel in Jaipur”.
After a few minuted we were escorted to our rooms which were nicely decorated. While my family enjoyed the lovely view from the room, I was hooked up to my phone eager to see the response to my recent post on Facebook. Within ten minutes I got eleven ‘Likes’ from my friends. Suddenly, I got to hear a strict tone... It was my wife’s voice who reminded me that it was supposed to be a trip away from technology and to be spent with the loved ones. But, driven by the Facebook-mania, I continued scrolling through the timeline to see what my other friends were up to.
Suddenly I came across a post from one of my friends who stated- “Having a gala time with my wife in Maldives” (with a picture of a beautiful white sand beach). His post was just 20 minutes old but had 57 ‘Likes’. Unknowingly, the happiness I cherished after entering the nice hotel vanished within a fraction of a second. Maybe that was because a friend of mine was at a better place and his posts had more likes than my post.
Experiencing some sort of unhappiness, I kept the phone aside and went outside the room to join my family that was all in giggles and laughter... remembering the funny incidents of life. ...
... Does his eagerness to check the count of ‘Likes’ drag him back to his phone? Does his mind get still occupied with the count of likes and the status of his friends? Does he also suffer from FOMO? What is FOMO?
To know all this in toto, read the complete article in December’15 edition of English Akhand Gyan Monthly Magazine.
