research by JWT to study a phenomenon called FOMO, fear of missing out, and how they can capitalise on this with branding and marketing.
the full document can be
downloaded called
Fear Of Missing Out – Updated March 2012.
my interest in this is the Fear of missing out is diluting full attention to working hard and putting a good shift in.
this seems especially so when working at a CPU that has also internet connection.
I would be keen to know how many of you all 'work' and are connected at the same time? how many of you communicate socially during work sessions? what does this communication entail?
Another expression I heard recently was via a writer, who says he deliberately 'goes dark' to get his work done. it made me laugh when his dark time was only an hour and a half. I forgot to ask how long his connected time was when he was back on...
but the gist of this is the same, Going dark and FOMO is a form of trying to control and discipline emotional and social need over creative work output. It is a new interference to work production where an element of good production is concentration and getting into a zone with the work. it is, in my opinion less easy now to get into that zone of production when there is so much attention seeking from others publishing tittle tattle all the time, and the threat of missing out tempts one out of the dark, to connect, and to see, and to comment and to join in.
this is just a beginning - I have noticed that students are not fully immersed as was once possible. I feel we all have to learn to moderate this connectedness and temper broadcasting and receiving this noise from everyone else, especially whilst trying to attain a sublime working state where the work-flow is strong and uninterrupted.
