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JOMOFOMO
And how to avoid falling for psychology-based marketing tactics
You’ve probably come across the term FOMO, which is short for the Fear Of Missing Out, and maybe JOMO too, which is the Joy Of Missing Out, but have you heard about JOMOFOMO?
Even if you haven’t (as it’s a term I came up with a short while ago), you can probably surmise that it’s short for the Joy Of Missing Out of the Fear Of Missing Out.
So what does that mean?
Well, it’s a celebration of the fact that you have matured beyond the point of falling for the emotional blackmail tactic of FOMO.
Marketers online use this all the time, as have advertisers on TV for decades.
The most common applications online are countdown timers (which are often fake anyway and are one of many shady tactics that you’ll come across) and one-time up-sells, where you can get a product at a discount after you’ve just bought something else (because you already have your wallet — or card — out).
I have to wonder how many people buy things they don’t really want or need simply because of the time or availability pressure under which they are placed.
My late wife used to succumb to those tactics all the time. Her reason was that “we might need it one day”. (I probably don’t…
