The 'Joy Of Missing Out' Is The Best Thing To Happen To Our Burnt-Out Brains

The older I get, the more I realize that my ideal Friday night and my actual Friday night plans are often two very different things.

In theory, I want to try the new restaurant everyone's talking about, attend pop-up events, catch up with friends, and make the most of my weekend—basically, live out what I used to see fictional corpo girlies in their 20s do in the movies. But in reality? When someone texts to say plans have been cancelled, there's usually a tiny part of me that's relieved.

Suddenly, my night is mine again. I can stay home, order takeout, continue the book I've been meaning to finish, or simply—*gasp*—do nothing at all. 🤭

A few years ago, I probably would've felt guilty admitting that. After all, we spent most of the 2010s being warned about FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out—the idea that something better, more exciting, or more fun was happening somewhere else without us.

Now, though, it feels like more people are realizing that staying in can be just as satisfying as going out. Sometimes even more so. That's where the Joy of Missing Out, or JOMO, comes in.

One of the biggest shifts lately is that people seem a lot more comfortable admitting they just can't keep up with everything. There always are more restaurants to try, more events to attend, more creators to follow, more shows to watch, more hobbies to pick up, and more places to travel than ever before. Every week introduces a new obsession, whether it's a trending café, a niche hobby, or an Internet micro-trend that suddenly takes over everyone's feeds.

At some point, though, you realize that trying to experience everything is impossible.

And that's why JOMO feels so relevant right now.

The rise of JOMO also helps explain why analog living is resonating with so many people. On the surface, trends like journaling, scrapbooking, film photography, reading physical books, and carrying analog bags don't seem connected. But they're all rooted in the same desire: taking a pause and being more intentional about how we spend our time.

When I'm reading a book, I'm not simultaneously scrolling TikTok. When I'm writing about things that happened to me on my journal, I'm not checking my notifs every few minutes. These activities ask us to slow down and focus on what's in front of us, instead of thinking about what we should be doing next.

That's why I don't think analog living is really about nostalgia. In a world where there's always something demanding our attention, these hobbies give us permission to step back and direct our energy on just one thing.

A few years ago, saying yes to everything felt aspirational. There was always a new restaurant everyone wanted reservations for, another event filling up the group chat, another buzzy show dominating everyone’s feed. Keeping up felt exciting—until it started feeling impossible.

These days, more people seem comfortable accepting that they can't do everything, and that's okay. That's where JOMO differs from simply staying home. It's not about opting out of life or rejecting new experiences—it's realizing that not every invitation, trend, or opportunity deserves a spot on your calendar.

Sometimes you'll go to the dinner. Sometimes you'll skip it and spend the evening curled up with a book instead. Neither choice is inherently better than the other. The appeal of JOMO is that it takes the pressure off feeling like you always have to choose the "right" option. Missing out stops feeling like a mistake and starts feeling like just a normal part of life.

These days, I still love checking out a new restaurant, showing up to events, and making plans with friends. But I've stopped assuming that those experiences are automatically better than a quiet night at home.

Sometimes they are. But sometimes, they're also not.

That's probably the biggest lesson behind JOMO. It isn't about convincing ourselves that staying in is superior to going out—it's about recognizing that both can be equally worthwhile.

For years, FOMO encouraged us to believe that the best experiences were always happening somewhere else. JOMO reminds us that missing out isn't a personal failure—it's just what happens when you choose one thing over another.

And in an age of endless options, there's something freeing about accepting that you can't do everything—and not wanting to. 🤷🏻‍♀️