The Downtown Diva often wishes she could attend each and every festive event in town. Especially during the busiest months, such as February and March, I wish I had a doppelganger. I've always felt this way, but these days, Facebook has added a whole new element to wanting to be everywhere at once - and it's even worse when I find out about a party after the fact.
 
Recently, I was perusing my Facebook newsfeed and saw that a friend had posted pictures from a recent soiree. They showed that all the guests (most of them mutual friends) clearly had a wonderful time - all the girls wore their best party dresses and there were plenty of obligatory shots of delicious looking adult beverages. So, where was I? NOT invited, that's where I was. I pouted as I clicked "like" on a few of the pics just so they'd know I noticed.
 
Truth is, they weren't incredibly close friends and I don't think I would have been a natural for the guest list anyway, but had it not been for Facebook, I would never have known about it and therefore wouldn't have felt excluded.
 
Apparently, I'm not the only one - the New York Times ran a piece about the subject earlier this year and referred to it as "FOMO" (Fear of Missing Out): "The blend of anxiety, inadequacy and irritation that can flare up while skimming social media..."
 
Interestingly, I suffered FOMO this weekend when I was the one who actually bowed out of a gathering. I had invited a gaggle of girlfriends to meet me at the new World of Beer at the Bell Tower, but on the way, I was seized with a splitting headache, so I headed home instead.
 
According to Facebook, the party went on just fine without me - one friend posted a picture of her beer; two others uploaded smiling pictures of themselves looking cute; another updated her status reporting that she loved the place; and naturally all of them "checked in."
 
I wished them the best as I downed two aspirin and secretly wished I could "check in" to the Ritz-Carlton in Paris - now that would really make my Facebook friends pea green with envy. Social media life - social real life - it's all becoming a bit blurred. {fini}