“B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O and BINGO was his name-o.”
Who would have thought you’d be seeing so many bingo Instagram story templates in 2020? I sure didn’t.
Maybe you have seen this or that story templates? Or describe your mood in GIFs? Or a 30 day song challenge, pushup challenge, see-a-verse-share-a-verse (or jersey, fish, senior photo, etc). I’m sure your Instagram feed is full of all of these, plus more.
Yes, even if you are tapping really fast to skip through the thousands of stories or posts about a different challenge, you’re still seeing all of it. And you’ve probably posted at least one, too. You weren’t going to, but eventually, after seeing so many, you didn’t want to miss out on what everyone else is doing. I’m guilty of it.
What’s with all of the challenges all of the sudden? Who knew we’d be playing bingo so much or sharing what we prefer over something else?
2020 society has major FOMO. No one wants to miss anything, and social media is our way to prove we have a good life. At least it seems that way.
But now no one can go, do, or explore anything. You can’t post about the event you just went to with your friends or the extravagant trip you went on to make the rest of us super jealous. You’re stuck at home. Just like the rest of the world.
With all this time, we see everyone’s stories and posts all the more. Screen time average is honestly a little scary. Hours seem to dwindle as we scroll.
Deep down, many of us are beginning to panic. We don’t want to show it or agree with the fact that there is a global pandemic and that life has changed, but we know that it has. And how are we coping?
You guessed it. BINGO (no pun intended).
All of these social media challenges give us a sense of purpose. That might sound silly, but it’s true. We don’t know what to do with ourselves if there is no event or adventure to parade in others’ faces. The way we can stand out is by proving we have a life by marking out a little square on a bingo Instagram story template.
In some ways, social media has been a great way to share creativity and express our feelings during such strange times. It’s a way to bring people together virtually while we stay apart physically.
However, these challenges are trying to cover a hole that seems impossible to fill in the majority of people’s hearts.
Our hearts hurt because we have FOMO on all the things we SHOULD be doing right now but can’t due to COVID-19. We should be at a party. We should be in classes. We should be able to hug our best friend.
But right now, that’s not a reality. And for this technological, self-obsessed era, there’s no way to prove ourselves to everyone, except by filling our time comparing ourselves to someone else’s bingo sheet.
We need to realize that during this time of quarantine, FOMO has no place. There is nothing to miss out on. There is nothing to make others feel jealous about.
Everyone is in the same boat. Social distancing is new to all of us. So, if you want to have FOMO, it should be about missing out on a time to rest and let go of the pressure of having to perform.
It’s okay to hurt right now. It’s sad to miss out on things that have been planned.
However, maybe right now you are supposed to be still, be present, be in the moment and be with your family or quarantine buddies.
We are tired of scrolling through stories, yet we can’t stop. Our brains are so wired around having to prove ourselves on social media or come up with the next best trend.
It’s okay if you aren’t able to check off a box to prove you have gone to this place or been to that event. You don’t have to prove yourself. Just be yourself. Maybe you’ll discover something beautiful you’ve never even seen before.