Wired magazine: the new FOMO (missing the news!)

Wired magazine for September 2017 headlines its issue with "The Great Tech Panic of 2017" and offers encouragement at the bottom of the cover with "How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Future." The magazine notices a growing angst even amongst the cyber-cognoscenti. You probably know something about computers or you wouldn't be glancing at this blog. And, even though we have the computer literacy skills, we still glance constantly at the cellphone like we're stuck on a desert island looking for glass bottles floating by with messages from the mainland.

We didn't learn from Mad magazine's Alfred E. Neuman's  advice-- "What, me worry?" And Alfred definitely has the look of a hacker, or computer whizkid of some kind.

Wired mentions several different kinds of scientific, brain-study explanations for FOMO, fear of missing out:

* Social driven FOMO stems from a person's primitive desire to belong to a group, with each snap, tweet, or post a reminder of what separates you from them.

* And, this other type of FOMO, the all-news, all-the-time kind,... could also derive from a primitive behavioral instinct-- surveillance gratification-seeking, or the urge that drove our cave-dwelling ancestor to poke their heads ou and check for predators.

We even have a Category 5 presidency, as pointed out by Mike Lupica of the The New York Daily News. President Trump makes news and follows it at the same time-- watching cable TV, getting angry and tapping away on his Twitter account. The guy creates an infinite loop of his own making. But, Donald Trump demonstrates a healthy response by letting out his feelings. Keep reading and you'll learn why it's important to express yourself.

Wired explains that human being are "meaning-making machines" and suggests a solution. This may sound counter-intuitive but... Wired says you should get more involved! The best response? Smartest thing to do about "coping with overload.... is... adding to the stream." Take at your keyboard and start tapping!

Here's Wired suggestion:

* Finish every post before moving on to the next one, but not before commenting, tweeting, or posting your thoughts about it...You can only comment so many times-- but you develop a better sense of which issues really inspire, enrage of matter most to you.... You'll realize, sooner than you imagine, that you're not missing out on anything.

As the old cliche goes-- the best defense is a good offense. Tell the world what you think.

And, if that fails... there's always Plan B. Find the the adult beverage of your choice and watch the world go by-- out the window. Remember to drink responsibly. Never mix drinking and driving-- or drinking and texting!