FOMO. So familiar an acronym it no longer needs explanation. It emerged as a phenomenon of social networking in 2004 – all those years ago; when we suddenly started living with a fear of missing out that extended beyond childhood. Will a sonic toothbrush be a future source of FOMO? Well, let us begin …

Long before the internet, it was easy being a kid. Fear of missing out has always existed in some form, and at that time it mostly involved a favourite tv show (no VCRs then) a phone call (no answering machines) an invitation to a party that absolutely anyone who was anyone was going to, or the post office to buy the stamp for that pen pal letter you’d finished the night before. When adulthood hit, it morphed into fear of missing out on a university place, a particular job, maybe a rental, or a once-in-ever expensive label or equipment sale.

Whatever it was, it was yet to become an almost permanent state of mind.

It was American venture capitalist, author and now podcaster Patrick J. McGinnis who coined FOMO as a Harvard Business School student.

A conflux of the first social network gaming site Friendster, the dot.com bust and 9-11 left archetypal Harvardians (monied, ambitious, social and competitive) feeling the need to live life to the fullest. Coupled with the rapid uptake of technology, it was easy to know what you were missing out on. Like a virus the term ‘FOMO’ was originally spread by humans throughout this petrissage Petri dish of the privileged and perspicacious.

Cram in everything else that’s happened since, and millions of digitally expressed experiences and it’s proven a highly virulent strain.

It took less than a decade for FOMO to be used extensively: fear of missing out had pushed itself to the forefront with its fear of missing out. The Oxford English Dictionary found a place in its pages for it in 2013; somewhere after ‘floss’ and ‘fluoride’ and way before ‘frenectomy’. It gave it the definition of “a feeling of worry that an interesting or exciting event is happening somewhere else” – rather nebulous, really, since there’s always an interesting or exciting event happening somewhere else.

Always.

Not only always, but often inside our own head.

FOMO is a rut that runs deep in the collective conscience of a 21st century that’s often unsure of where it’s headed, yet stoplessly going there anyway.

What made us start ‘worrying’ about that, had something to do with the overwhelming number of people social networking connected. Countable relationships with people who were largely identifiable (by face or voice) were essentially ‘known knowns’. In very short order that mushroomed to uncountable connections with known unknowns, and unknown knowns.

Psychologically, humans can only maintain stable social relationships with around 150 other people.

Known as ‘Dunbar’s number’ it was first proposed by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar in the 1990s when in his studies of primates he became convinced of a correlation between brain size, and group size. This basic principle was then applied to the historical, anthropological and contemporary psychological data of humans and group size. Remarkable consistency with the number 150 was apparent, before groups either collapsed or diversified.

Throughout the likes of ancient societies, mediaeval villages, communes, residential sites, factories and military organisations – even down to Christmas card lists – the research remained true:exceeding that magic number has connections and cohesion unlikely to be sustainable.

According to the theory, there are nested numbers within the social brain; with the inner circle of loved ones consisting of just 5 people.

The circle expands in 5s: 15 good friends, 50 friends, 150 meaningful contacts, 500 acquaintances and 1500 people we can recognise. The hypothesis is that there are migrations within those areas, but the space has to be available.

Apparently, this naked ape cluster of 5s is fundamental to monkeys and apes in general.

It’s certainly open to ridicule. Applied to individual lives and without any of the contingencies – like extroverts spreading themselves more thinly over a larger network while introverts have an intensity of connection within a more concentrated spread – it naturally has it has its detractors.

What we commonly don’t invest enough time and resources into, is our dental health.

Crucially, when the aesthetics and functionality of our smile is lost to periodontal disease, or loose, missing and discoloured teeth then it doesn’t matter how many friends or acquaintances we have, we likely won’t have the confidence to see them.

Early detection is crucial in the prevention of the adverse outcomes of gum disease, and dental x-rays remain the gold standard in identification.

It seems such an accessible diagnostic tool; but for millions it isn’t. Which is what prompted the development of ToMoBrush – a dental health sensing system that uses standard sonic toothbrushes for regular, low-cost self examination.

Recently published in the journal Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering researchers teamed up with the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine to create the ToMoBrush (Tooth Monitoring Brush, aka Tomorrow’s Toothbrush).

ToMoBrush extends the perception of a toothbrush as simply a cleaning tool, by utilising the acoustic signals generated by the rapid vibrations of sonic ones.

For those yet to be in the know, electric toothbrushes work by rapidly rotating, while sonic ones use high-frequency vibrations. This also creates tiny bubbles in a way other brushes don’t; penetrating between the teeth and below the gum line. This not only helps remove the harmful bacteria that creates gum disease, but also stimulates blood flow for healthy soft tissue.

The biotechnology of ToMoBrush capitalises on the acoustic signals generated by sonic bristle vibrations. In contact with a tooth, a distinct acoustic signal is produced defining the condition of each tooth.

Data-driven signal processing was developed by the team to take into account the toothbrush brand, bristle formation, battery charge, brushing strength and tooth resonance in order to distinguish cavities, plaque, calculus and food impaction. Its genius lies in sensing and audio technologies, real-time signal processing and machine learning algorithms.

It’s a supplementary dental health care system to identify potential oral health issues earlier than was ever previously possible, even with regular 6-monthly dental appointments.

When ToMoBrush becomes commercially available, it’ll be one of the few occasions of justifiable FOMO.

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