Holiday season! Fun, relaxing and… FOMO?!
Now that the holiday season is here (!!!), you and your family are likely beginning to look forward to some much needed relaxation and time away from the busy school days. Perhaps you are looking forward to adventures abroad with family and friends, or ready to cuddle up inside for movies and board games. Looking ahead, we often feel mostly excitement at the prospect of a vacation - but in between all the plans and daydreaming, there may be another feeling - the thought that maybe you will miss out. We see this often during vacations, when scrolling through instagram, you see friends at home spending time together and you - despite having a quite wonderful vacation planned yourself - start to worry about not being there, too.
The Fear of Missing Out
FOMO refers to the anxiety or unease that people may feel about missing out on experiences or traditions, especially when you see friends enjoying the festivities without you. This feeling is totally relatable and happens to the best of us, especially for expat families: we are often faced with missing out on the big and little moments going on with our connections around the world. FOMO can hit harder during the holiday season when you realize it’s a break from routine and you can fill it with whatever you’d like. However, the pressure to spend it “wisely” can be quite taxing: instead of relaxing, you accidentally spend your time on worrying about missing out on the fun!
As someone who’s rooted in different cultures and places, your third culture kid’s FOMO can be quite influenced by their affinity to different places. Sometimes their friends can be all across the world, intensifying their FOMO even more! Indeed, it becomes easier to miss someone when they’re halfway across the world. Yet, they scroll endlessly, trying to stay connected. Eventually, they realize time slipped away, and they missed out on enjoying their free time. It's a daily struggle for your TCK.
Have you ever thought about encouraging your TCK to do a social media cleanse?
When it comes to conquering FOMO, limiting screen time, especially if it's causing restlessness over comparing their holiday experiences, might be a good idea. We understand that they’re still curious about what their friends are up to, so it may be too difficult to stop using social media all at once! An alternative is to set daily reduction goals on the amount of time spent scrolling. Doing so will redirect them to engage themselves in more meaningful things, like spending time with the people around them, or learning a new skill. Maybe, you can be involved in this too! Instead of spending time indoors and scrolling through social media try having some fun together in the snow!
Another tip is to plan your days together. Have a conversation about how they feel about being away from their overseas friends and suggest some new fun plans together! Help your TCK divert their attention from the “What-ifs” to the present moment, while validating their experiences.
“I know that you miss your friends, unfortunately, we can’t visit them right now, but look how fun it can be spending time here!”
It can be a challenge getting started, but once they’re engaged, they will realize how fun it is to simply be there.
It’s not always easy to manage FOMO, especially when there's this trend to glamorize jam-packed holiday schedules with tons of fun. If you feel that you need some extra help in dealing with this, we're here for you at the Expat Kids Club!