Ontology of Distraction: Fomo and the Crisis of the Subject in Poe's "the Man of the Crowd"
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper investigates the phenomenon of the "fear of missing out" (FOMO) as an ontological and existential structure of the subject, proceeding from an interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Man of the Crowd." Although FOMO is most commonly understood in contemporary research as a socio-psychological phenomenon tied to the digital environment, this paper redefines it as a deeper mechanism of the inability to endure absence and void. The theoretical framework is grounded in a synthesis of psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan) and the fundamental ontology of Martin Heidegger, with selective use of contemporary cultural-theoretical approaches. The methodological approach encompasses close reading of the text and theoretical triangulation through three levels of analysis: psychoanalytic, ontological, and phenomenological-cultural. The paper demonstrates that the relationship between the narrator and the mysterious old man can be understood as a double (doppelgänger) relationship, in which the crisis of a subject split between the desire for presence and the inability to confront its own finitude is manifested. In this context, FOMO is interpreted as a defense mechanism against authentic existence—namely, as a fear of life masked as a fear of missing out. The final part of the paper establishes an analogy between Poe’s urban space and the contemporary digital environment, interpreting the coffeehouse window as a precursor to the screen. Conclusively, the paper argues that FOMO is not an historically contingent phenomenon, but a structural property of modern subjectivity whose resolution remains an open question. Rad istražuje fenomen „straha od propuštanja“ (FOMO) kao ontološku i egzistencijalnu strukturu subjekta, polazeći od interpretacije pripovetke „Čovek gomile“ Edgar Alan Poa. Iako se FOMO u savremenim istraživanjima najčešće razume kao sociopsihološki fenomen vezan za digitalno okruženje, ovaj rad ga redefiniše kao dublji mehanizam nemogućnosti podnošenja odsustva i praznine. Teorijski okvir zasniva se na spoju psihoanalize (Sigmund Frojd, Žak Lakan) i fundamentalne ontologije Martin Hajdegera, uz selektivno korišćenje savremenih kulturno-teorijskih pristupa. Metodološki pristup obuhvata dubinsko čitanje teksta i teorijsku triangulaciju kroz tri nivoa analize: psihoanalitički, ontološki i fenomenološko-kulturni. Rad pokazuje da se odnos između naratora i misterioznog starca može razumeti kao odnos „dvojnika“, u kojem se ispoljava kriza subjekta rascepljenog između želje za prisutnošću i nemogućnosti suočavanja sa sopstvenom konačnošću. FOMO se u tom kontekstu tumači kao odbrambeni mehanizam protiv autentičnog postojanja, odnosno kao strah od života maskiran kao strah od propuštanja. U završnom delu rada uspostavlja se analogija između Poovog urbanog prostora i savremenog digitalnog okruženja, pri čemu se prozor kafane interpretira kao preteča ekrana. Zaključno, rad argumentuje da FOMO nije istorijski uslovljen fenomen, već strukturno svojstvo moderne subjektivnosti, čije razrešenje ostaje otvoreno pitanje.
Author: Salkunić, Bajro
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221521789
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