19 notes
Caterina Fake on the fear of missing out
FOMO —Fear of Missing Out— is a great motivator of human behavior, and I think a crucial key to understanding social software, and why it works the way it does.
On the heels of SXSWi:
You’re home alone, but watching your friends status updates tell of a great party happening somewhere. You are aware of more parties than ever before. And, like gym memberships, adding Bergman movies to your Netflix queue and piling up unread copies of the New Yorker, watching these feeds gives you a sense that you’re participating, not missing out, even when you are.
And:
It’s an age-old problem, exacerbated by technology. To be always filled with craving and desire (defilement, affliction) is one of the Three Poisons of Buddhism, called kilesa, and it makes you a slave.
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