ROBIN WRITES: IDC about FOMO

By Editor | May 27, 2026 |

Text Abbreviations and acronyms splotch the pages of our modern vocabulary. They wedge themselves into conversations and communications.
I LOL when I read funny things. A few times, I’ve even ROFL while SMH in disbelief at yet another hilarious dog video on TikTok. I’ve been known to offer TMI to friends, but I guess YOLO, so it’s NBD.
But there is an acronym that will never apply to my life.
FOMO. The fear of missing out.
I don’t want to know everything, to have everything, or to understand everything. I value what’s left of my brain’s capacity and don’t want to overwhelm it.
Trying to keep up with all the news and information I’m offered every day is an unrealistic goal. I know enough to stay safe, happy, and informed on matters that are important to me. I don’t care about what others have and don’t worry that I’m being left behind in this world of constant one-upmanship.
I don’t fear “missing out”. But that’s not to say I don’t have other fears. I’m going to turn them into cute little abbreviations. See if they catch on.
Feel free to use one if you feel the same.
FOPC: Fear of phone calls. I’ve succumbed to the evils of text; the voiceless communication that gives me time to think before I respond. When the phone rings now, I panic a bit. I know it must be a telemarketer or bad news.
FOLCIPL: Fear of losing my car in a parking lot. It’s embarrassing to wander around Walmart’s parking lot, looking for your white car among a sea of other white cars.
You pretend you know where you’re going, but your furtive, jerky movements tell on you. Everyone knows.
FOSS: Fear of sudden sneezes. Am I right?
FOPAE: Fear of Pet Adoption Events. If I see dogs or cats in cages, with baleful, orphan eyes shooting pleas my way, I panic. A puppy would probably live longer than me. A cat definitely would.
I can’t afford healthcare for both an older dog and the older me. I turn and scurry away, praying for their rescue.
FOR: This one gets eyerolls from friends when I mention it. But it’s a real fear. Fear of Roundabouts keeps me from visiting places where these circular roads are built. I don’t understand, and I don’t want to. If only they’d let me just drive straight across the circle.
FOFD: Everyone my age knows this one, and if we forget about it, we’re reminded of it every time we go for a checkup. Thanks to friends, doctors, and family, I have developed a Fear of Falling. It’s as if my bones are turning to chalk, just waiting to crumble.
Now, when it snows, I stomp like Frankenstein on snowshoes to the mailbox. When I have to step up or down or along bumpy terrain, my eyes watch each plodding step I take as if the ground will turn to pudding and swallow my upright body.
FOFS: Now this may be the worst fear abbreviation of all for older people. Worse than missing out. Scarier than back-to-back roundabouts. Even more devastating than a sudden sneeze.
Fear of Forgetting Something becomes a constant worry for us who have family just waiting for us to display a slight deficit in recall. They find it incomprehensible that after more than a half-century of brain use, we may not be able to remember EVERYTHING.
And if we forget too often, we’ll see that frantic look in their eyes. It may be time to fill out some “paperwork”.
“Don’t you remember what I told you yesterday??”
“Did you forget where you put your keys…again??”
“No, Mom. It’s Friday, not Thursday.”
FOMO? Who cares. I have my own fears to worry about. IYKYN.
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■ Robin is a freelance columnist who lives and writes in Quincy, Illinois. Contact her at [email protected].