The FOMO Economy

 

There has been quite a hullabaloo about the growing Concert Economy in India. A few music concerts in the past few weeks have been extremely popular and have raked in good moolah for the organizers. Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Bryan Adams, Dua Lipa, and our own singers like Dilit Dosanjh and many others performed to an overflowing crowd. A few analysts, however, have attributed this to the FOMO (Fear of missing out) factor.

There are legions of genuine music enthusiasts who live and breathe these artists.  At the same time, there also are many piled-on audiences who have little or no interest in music. They are there just to enjoy the extravaganza and experience the other surrounding fun and frolic associated with these events. The investment of time and money is worth the Instagram-worthy moments that it offers.  Over the last few years, enough has been spoken and written about the experiential holidays and experiential gifts. This is just a part of such an experiential event that no one wants to miss out.

The current craze of experiencing the mega mahakumbh event is another such example. Yes, there is a religious sanctity attached to the event. Yes, some devout believers would have never missed even the 12-year occurrences over their lifetime and this was a rare 144-year event.  But going by the current number of devotees who have already taken a dip in the holy confluence of rivers over the last one month, it is much beyond that. Many are otherwise faith agnostic but have not missed this opportunity to be part of this. Just because they wanted to be in the count and didn’t want to miss an opportunity to secure social media hits.  And then more followed, perhaps, due to the same FOMO factor.

Last week, another familiar event took place. The delightful spectacle of state elections in the national capital. And as it happens, the media circus of the counting of votes and the announcement of results was no less than a gala event. From high-decibel anchors to mild-mannered philosophical experts and from sagacious psephologists to political rivals at each other’s throats – they were all there on the TV to make their points. For some, it was an intellectual feast and for others, it was pure entertainment. In India, we carry strong opinions on our cricketers and the judgment of the selection committee as also on the polity and the broader voter response during elections. Therefore, an election doesn’t pass off merely as a process, it evokes emotions for some and provides validation of stand for others.

I was wondering, if there will be a time when even the election result analysis will not be limited to the TV audience, it may well become another extravaganza hosted by these anchors in large arenas. The euphoria involving such detailed analysis, the leads, the ups and downs, and the results will all be watched live by the audience. Like the award functions, the event will blend politics with other fun, frolic, food, and drinks to keep everyone engaged. Social media posts and the relentless FOMO will ensure the cash registers keep ringing. Who said democracy couldn’t be entertaining?