Il n'y a pas si longtemps, la peur de rater quelque chose était un sentiment que beaucoup d'entre nous connaissaient bien trop bien. Grâce aux réseaux sociaux et à la connectivité instantanée que nous avons à portée de main, nous sommes capables de nous tenir au courant de tout et de tout le monde, à tout moment. Mais devrions-nous le faire ?

Our ability to access this non-stop stream of information and updates has meant that we are always involved, and feelings of FOMO begin to subside … until you switch off.

Enter FOSO – The Fear Of Switching Off.

The Rise of FOSO

FOSO is that nagging feeling that keeps us tethered to our devices. It’s that anxiety and unease that you feel when you try to disconnect. It is the fear of missing out on important updates that 1 in 3 people globally experience and this fear is an instigator for the information overload that we try to process every day.

Consultant counselling psychologist Dr Ritika Suk Birah commented;

“We’re not robots, we often believe that we can just keep going and going, but that’s the reason that burnout is so common”.

This belief that we can function and thrive from stress has serious implications for our long term physical and mental health, which is exhibited in the £51 billion that poor mental health cost UK employers in 2024.

One reason this figure is so startingly high is because the term FOSO originates from the work place, where many employees feel ‘immense pressure’ to check in with work, even when taking time off! But this isn’t just the emails sent outside working hours, it’s also the anticipatory stress of responding and the expectation of always being contactable that has given rise to people feeling like they can’t fully switch off.

If we can be contacted wherever, why can’t we reply?

This feeling has been exacerbated in recent years by the pandemic and the increased opportunities to work from home (WFH). Although many people enjoy the benefits of a WFH lifestyle, not leaving the house and typing away from the dining room table has blurred our work-life boundaries. Additionally, a disproportionate number of people feel that because they are not in the office being seen working, they need to prove they are through producing results.

The Hustle and Bustle

For many that are able to find a balanced work life, the need to be hyper-productive and the emergence of ‘Hustle Culture’ which glamorises stories of people working endless hours to become ‘successful’, means they are constantly working toward unrealistic visions of achievement.

Part of the rise in ‘side hustles’ comes from the cost-of-living crisis, which has led many people to try and provide a second income to support their finances. For those who can’t explore this option, there has been an increase in the uncertainty of their job stability. A factor that is causing more and more employees to experience burnout, which comes with its own cohort of additional problems such as difficulty relaxing or enjoying leisure time, increased stress and anxiety and poorer sleep quality to name a few.

If you’re wondering why there isn’t legislation banning employers from expecting their employees to engage in communications outside of working hours, there is… in France.

In 2017, the country introduced the ‘right to switch off law’, and it’s not the first time France has been ahead of the game in public wellbeing laws, as they introduced the first of it’s kind School Phone Bans the same year, a step that many countries have mirrored since.

While many UK employees are eager to follow in France’s footsteps again, much of the pressure to respond is implicit and as such we must instead focus on altering the social expectations surrounding switching off, letting people know that it’s okay to have ‘you’ time, without your device.

FOSO in all Ages

FOSO may have originated in the workplace, but it definitely hasn’t stayed there, in fact with the constant notifications and alerts we receive averaging over 150 a day, the fear of switching off has well and truly entered all phases of our lives.

The average number of notifications for young people far surpasses this with several students from the recent documentary SWIPED: The School that Banned Smartphones remarking that they expect to receive upwards of 300 messages a day, which is leading to ‘extreme anxiety and panic attacks’.

The documentary goes on to explore the impact of removing smartphones from these children, finding that the absence of devices saw significant decreases in anxiety and symptoms linked to depression and well as a boost in working memory.

If we as adults are struggling with regulating our tech habits, then it would be unfounded to expect children to successfully navigate this without support. However, awareness on the matter is growing with further research being conducted and many Schools implementing phone bans using methods such as Lockable Phone Pouches and phone lockers.

Breaking the Cycle

With such an abundance of information being streamlined to our phone throughout the day, we’re cautious not to fall behind on news and opportunities, but this constant vigilance is no longer a conscious thought, it’s an ingrained habit that we have to consciously work to change.

One of the most effective ways to break out of this cycle is to begin setting clear boundaries. Designating a time for responding to messages and switching off notifications outside of that period can make a world of difference to your productivity and peace of mind.

A pitfall of this method is that the longer we leave our friends and colleagues without replying, the more stress and anxiety we feel about it. It would be so easy to quickly respond and clear our conscience but communicating with these people by letting them know when you’re unavailable, or setting expectations about response times can really help quench those fears and build healthier relationships.

If you know you won’t be able to stop yourself, especially during the school or workday then you can consider using phone-restriction tools such as restrictive apps, lock boxes or phone pouches to help.

Finally, you’re never going to fully escape the world of tech and the constant buzzing, but a little holiday from it might do you wonders. Consider taking a ‘Digital Detox’ where you schedule periods without any electronic devices to help retrain your brain to disconnect. A screen free weekend might be the perfect remedy for this, or you might prefer a few days retreat somewhere quiet and surrounded by nature.

Our relationships with these devices are individual to us and so the solution has to be as well, do what works for you and best meets your needs. Thankfully, it’s becoming increasingly acceptable to talk openly about these topics and the steps we need to take in order to protect our emotional health.

In our hyper connected world so many of us struggle with FOSO but remember that every time you choose to switch off, you are making a conscious decision to prioritise your wellbeing.