FOMO vs JOMO: lesson ideas

Every month Oxford University Press publishes the Oxford Word of the Month. This September this word is JOMO (pronounced ˈdʒəʊməʊ’ in British English and ˈdʒoʊmoʊ’ in North American English), the opposite of FOMO (‘fear of missing out’ — a feeling of worry that an interesting or exciting event is happening somewhere else). JOMO is the abbreviation of ‘joy of missing out’ and is used when you’re enjoying what you’re doing in the here and now and not on social media broadcasting or seeing what everybody else is doing. JOMO is about pleasure in turning off smartphones, skipping party time, and settling into a nice, warm evening at home and not caring what other people are doing. The term itself is not new (in fact, it was used back in 2012) but the 2019 version of it is geared toward the current too-plugged-in world.

JOMO is a trendy thing now and let’s see how teachers can discuss and use this buzzword in lessons. 

• Warm-up 

Ask students to look at the pictures below and describe them. Then they should choose one picture which describes them best and explain their choice. 

•  Lead-in 

Write the abbreviations ‘FOMO’ and ‘JOMO’ on the board. Brainstorm the ideas what they might stand for. Let students do research and find out the meanings on the Internet. If necessary, provide the link to the article.

• Vocabulary work 

Give out a list of phrases and get students to divide them into two columns: FOMO and JOMO 

• social media addiction 
• be obsessed with posting shots all the time
• give up scrolling, texting and the swiping every spare second
• lounging on the sofa with a movie and a bowl of popcorn
• a brief digital detox
• shut yourself off from social media and any virtual connection to the world 
• log into work emails outside of working hours to check that you haven’t missed anything momentous while we’ve been away
• mindfulness, self-care and self-awareness 
• spend valuable time attending optional meetings “just in case” something relevant comes up
• compulsively check your social media channels to ensure that you’re keeping abreast of all happenings
• compare your own life to the lives of others
• accept and embrace the present moment, regardless of what else you could be doing
• stress, anxiety and even depression
• spend a Saturday night reading a book or binge-watching your favourite television series
• lose yourself in the midst of a maelstrom of digital notifications.
• turn attention to your own well-being
• take the time to do the things that make you happy without judgement or comparison.

Keys:

FOMO 

• social media addiction 
• be obsessed with posting shots all the time
• log into work emails outside of working hours to check that you haven’t missed anything momentous while we’ve been away
• spend valuable time attending optional meetings “just in case” something relevant comes up
• compulsively check your social media channels to ensure that you’re keeping abreast of all happenings
• compare your own life to the lives of others
• stress, anxiety and even depression
• lose yourself in the midst of a maelstrom of digital notifications.

JOMO

• give up scrolling, texting and the swiping every spare second
• lounging on the sofa with a movie and a bowl of popcorn
• a brief digital detox
• shut yourself off from social media and any virtual connection to the world 
• mindfulness, self-care and self-awareness 
• accept and embrace the present moment, regardless of what else you could be doing
• spend a Saturday night reading a book or binge-watching your favourite television series
• turn attention to your own well-being
• take the time to do the things that make you happy without judgement or comparison.
• FOMO or JOMO

Ask students to discuss in pairs whether they suffer from FOMO and need to get JOMO or not. Then students should take the quiz to check their predictions.

• Reading practice

Before reading the text, get students to discuss the questions in pairs:

1. What does it mean to be digitally healthy? 
2. What does self-care mean to you? 
3. Do you know any apps to track the time you spend on social media or number of times you check your mobile phone? Do you use any of them? 
4. How to flip FOMO into JOMO?

Let students read the following article and create a list of tips to start JOMO:

Then students should rank the tips according to their priorities and abilities to follow them. Ask a wrap-up activity, ask students to mingle and share their thoughts on the topic of the lesson, their lifestyle and tips to embrace JOMO. 

Hope your students will enjoy this lesson and learn something new.