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(*fear of being involved)
The term coined by Bridgerton’s Claudia Jessie might resonate with Gen Z, but we shouldn’t take the joy of socialising for granted, says Hattie Crisell
BRIDGERTON IS BACK and, judging by the fanfiction it generates online, a lot of us fantasise about life in the Regency era. Claudia Jessie (who plays Eloise), on the other hand, recently told an interviewer that if she really lived in Bridgerton-land, she’d swerve invitations to balls. Joking with co-stars Hannah Dodd and Jessica Madsen, she added, ‘We don’t really have FOMO [fear of missing out]. We’ve got, like, fear of being involved.’
FOBI is a new one to me. In my twenties, I definitely had FOMO: it took me to a lot of weird places and helped me fill Facebook with dozens of ‘friends’ I’d only meet once. But after enough occasions of dressing up and trekking into town to be rewarded with crap conversation followed by hangxiety, you live and learn: often, a night on the sofa is a better idea. What a relief it’s been to realise that when you miss a night out, you rarely miss anything at all.
FOBI also, presumably, means swerving the dreaded admin that’s involved in socialising. ‘Adulthood mainly involves suggesting dates in WhatsApp groups until someone can’t do that date, and then you return to the start of the process,’ tweeted novelist Mhairi McFarlane recently. While I love a girls’ trip or a reunion dinner, nothing makes me want to be friendless more than the pre-event brainstorm. I do not want to complete a poll about available weekends or be tasked with finding an affordable cottage with a hot tub. I’d rather not track down photos from 2003 or gather anecdotes about a bride or groom. I too have FOBI.
Though Jessie is 3
