What is JOMO? The rising trend is that people are canceling plans at the last minute to enjoy the joy of missing out – and you’ll NEVER believe their excuses
- JOMO, Joy of Missing Out, is considered the exact opposite of FOMO and is very trendy
- People are increasingly canceling stay-at-home plans, often at the last minute
- Psychologist Cass Dunn says the cancellation of the plan gives us a huge rush of joy
People are sharing the “most ridiculous reasons they canceled friends” as the JOMO trend, or the joy of missing out, continues to grow.
The trend, which has been growing since the end of the Covid lockdown, sees people canceling plans at the last minute in favor of “doing nothing”.
Online, people have admitted canceling “because they have dandruff” to “watch their plants” or prefer to chill with their pets.
People have uncovered some of the excuses they use for not seeing their friends
Crappy to Happy founder and psychologist Cass Dunn describes JOMO as “the sheer joy of what you are doing in each moment without worrying about what everyone else is doing”.
Essentially the polar opposite of FOMO, the fear of missing out.
“There really is no better feeling than sending this life changing text to cancel plans so you can hit the sofa instead,” she told FEMAIL.
Popular activities include watching TV on the couch or snuggling up with ice cream.
And it’s not just old people who are abandoning their well-thought-out stay-at-home plans, in fact, research from ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s suggests Gen Z is leading the trend.
34 percent of the younger generation admitted to canceling by telling their friends they forgot or were double-booked.
While Gen X “is most relieved” when they cancel, the stats show.
“Three in four Australians say they have used an excuse, be it truth or a lie, to cancel plans when they’d rather stay at home than go out.”
While half of all Australians admit they feel a rush of excitement following the decision to stay at home.
Psychologist Cass Dunn says that we often agree to plans without taking the time to think about how we’re going to feel that day
dr Dunn says it’s because we often make plans for the future because it “feels good right now” and not really thinking about how we might feel that day.
“We often commit to things in the future and assume that after a long week, our future selves will be full of energy, motivation and sociability,” she said.
“Eventually those decisions will catch up with us and we’ll be faced with the reality that we’ve agreed to do something we’d rather not do.”
This leads to inner turmoil as we are faced with two choices: go out when we don’t want to, or disappoint someone we care about, she explained.
“When we work up the courage to text and cancel the plans, not only do we experience the instant relief, but the sheer joy,” she said.
“We’re getting hit with a surge of dopamine in our brain’s reward center, and that feels really good.”
dr Dunn wants people to feel okay about opting out of plans when they decide not to go through with them, and says there shouldn’t be a need to find an excuse to pretend to be uncomfortable.
“Letting ourselves off the hook can be a great act of self-care, and we shouldn’t feel guilty about prioritizing our own need for downtime,” she said.
“We’re getting hit with a surge of dopamine in our brain’s reward center, and that feels really good.”
Before the termination, Dr. Dunn likes to think of the relief she feels when others fire her.
“Sometimes the only thing more joyful than canceling plans is to have the other person canceling,” she said.
“So when I cancel, I like to think that my boyfriend might be just as relieved to receive my texts as I am to send them.”
Ben and Jerry’s challenge the best excuses people have come up with to call their friends names.
They reward the winner with a koala sofa and a year’s supply of ice cream to help them make the most of their time as an Anti-Scoial at home.
Flakey friends can enter the competition until September 30th.
