The rise of Fobo reflects an emerging trend on how choice overload can, despite appearances, make us miserable.

In an episode on her podcast, The Happiness Lab, Dr Laurie Santos points out we are more spoiled for choice than ever.

However, research shows we usually end up less satisfied with our decision because of it. What’s more, filtering out all these options is proven to be mentally draining, which can lead to worse decision making or “decision fatigue”.

On the other hand, those who are presented with fewer options are more likely to end up satisfied. For example, a study offered customers samples of either six or 24 different jams on alternate days. Researchers found 30% of people in the first group purchased at least one of the six jams they tried, while only 3% of the other group made a purchase. In other words, when we are overwhelmed with choice, we are less likely to make a decision at all.

McGinnis adds, unlike Fomo, which can sometimes be beneficial as it pushes us to try new things, Fobo is more “destructive” and is something we should work on.

The fear in Fobo tends to stem from a “fear of letting go”, he says. “In order to choose something you must let go of another thing and it’s the fear of having to mourn the road untaken. So we would rather not decide at all and keep out options open”.

Do you have Fobo? Why “fear of better options” is making us miserable – and how to get around it