YOLO: A Contemporary Carpe Diem
Are You Afraid of Missing Out?
You only live once, so make the most of it. #YOLO
It wasn’t until I was watching a reality tv show (whose name has been omitted for the purposes of saving face) that I came across someone using the term YOLO aloud. I’d been hearing it on and off for some time but wasn’t entirely sure of its meaning. As urbandictionary is a godsend for those of us teetering on the very edge of being hip (note: the author is fully aware that by using the term “hip” she is clearly indicating that she is likely not), I came to find it meant, “you only live once.” This week I came across another variant of the same notion abbreviated as FOMO, “fear of missing out.”
Naturally, my free-associating mind wandered to a man whose very name is phonetically not unlike this YOLO business. Existential psychologist Irvin Yalom wrote about the four “givens” or “ultimate concerns” of the human condition: death, isolation, meaninglessness, and freedom. Interestingly, the premise of YOLO and FOMO is not entirely unrelated to Yalom’s writings.
Bottom of Form
The idea of YOLO at its simplest is a contemporary version of “carpe diem,” to live life to its fullest. The Washington Post lifestyle section referenced the emergence of this lexical trend last Spring, with the New York Times covering the notion of FOMO over a year ago. Many explain that YOLO is an excuse for stupid stunts of the Jersey Shore variety. Others blame FOMO on social media like Facebook. As social psychologists will tell us, downward social comparisons will make us feel better about ourselves (“at least I’m better off than those losers”) and upward social comparisons can make us feel worse (“look at everyone out there living the life, and I’m here on the couch in my pajamas watching Full House reruns”). But what’s going on that such words have transcended teen lingo and started to seep into the mainstream?
It is one thing to be living in a time when everything is abbreviated. I would have
You only live once, so make the most of it. #YOLO
It wasn’t until I was watching a reality tv show (whose name has been omitted for the purposes of saving face) that I came across someone using the term YOLO aloud. I’d been hearing it on and off for some time but wasn’t entirely sure of its meaning. As urbandictionary is a godsend for those of us teetering on the very edge of being hip (note: the author is fully aware that by using the term “hip” she is clearly indicating that she is likely not), I came to find it meant, “you only live once.” This week I came across another variant of the same notion abbreviated as FOMO, “fear of missing out.”
Naturally, my free-associating mind wandered to a man whose very name is phonetically not unlike this YOLO business. Existential psychologist Irvin Yalom wrote about the four “givens” or “ultimate concerns” of the human condition: death, isolation, meaninglessness, and freedom. Interestingly, the premise of YOLO and FOMO is not entirely unrelated to Yalom’s writings.
Bottom of Form
The idea of YOLO at its simplest is a contemporary version of “carpe diem,” to live life to its fullest. The Washington Post lifestyle section referenced the emergence of this lexical trend last Spring, with the New York Times covering the notion of FOMO over a year ago. Many explain that YOLO is an excuse for stupid stunts of the Jersey Shore variety. Others blame FOMO on social media like Facebook. As social psychologists will tell us, downward social comparisons will make us feel better about ourselves (“at least I’m better off than those losers”) and upward social comparisons can make us feel worse (“look at everyone out there living the life, and I’m here on the couch in my pajamas watching Full House reruns”). But what’s going on that such words have transcended teen lingo and started to seep into the mainstream?
It is one thing to be living in a time when everything is abbreviated. I would have
References: Are You Afraid of Missing Out? You only live once, so make the most of it. #YOLO Published on October 7, 2012 by Goal Auzeen Saedi, Ph.D. in Millennial Media http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/millennial-media/201210/are-you-afraid-missing-out