FOBO: Paralyzed by Choices

TSM Bandung, before Covid-19

These days I am trying to find a birthday present for my daughter who turns twenty next month. In the current limitations of movement, I rely on the online shops to find a gift. I was expecting that by typing the keyword “tumbler” or “headset” in the search box of Shopee or Lazada onine shop, things can be done quickly.

But apparently it's not that easy. Shopee displays 100 pages of search results with each page containing 50 types of tumblers. Lazada said there are 1,688,191 items found for the "headset". Oh, well..

There are thousands or even millions of choices that appear for every item I look for, with a variety of colors, shapes, prices, sizes, functions, and seller locations. For headsets, there are also options for gaming, bluetooth, full-bass and many more. Not to mention dealing with various brands and recommendations from reviewers.

Too many variations, too many choices, it takes more time to decide which one to choose. So, I postponed the purchase decision. Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, the day after tomorrow or tomorrow that never comes. Meanwhile the birthday is approaching.

 

Every day we are faced with countless choices. Moreover, with the ease of access like today, even for decisions that used to be simple, such as deciding what to eat where or shopping for daily necessities, we are troubled by the possibility of too many choices.

We associate many choices with progress and freedom. Back then we didn't have this many choices. We feel left behind if we don't know where to get certain items. An item looks exclusive, because it can only be obtained by certain people who have connections. But now all kinds of options are open easily accessible to anyone anywhere.

Not just related to goods. Too many choices also occur in other sectors like health, entertainment, education, investment and others.

The flood of choices in entertainment and investment occurs because of the ease of access via apps, whether it's for movie streaming like Netflix and Viu, or for buying mutual funds like Bareksa and Bibit.

In the health sector, see, there are so many kinds of medicines to cure fever and diarrhea. The difference is only slight. There are so many types of herbs for common cold. All available in the neighbourhood convenience store. Allowing decisions to be made by the user in choosing medication is like shifting responsibility to the hands of an unskilled person. But that's another thing that needs to be discussed on its own.

 

Barry Schwarz, author of The Paradox of Choice, mentions two negative effects that arise amid this choices overload.

The first effect is, paradoxically, that abundance leads to paralysis rather than freedom. With so many choices, people find it very difficult to choose. Paralysis or the inability to choose is a consequence of having too many choices.

The second effect is that even if we manage to overcome the paralysis and are able to make choices, we will end up being less satisfied with what we choose than if we had fewer choices.

For example, with so many different types of headsets to choose from in an online shop, if I chose one I could easily imagine that perhaps the other was a better option. Then this alternative that I imagined made me regret the decision I had made.

This regret reduces satisfaction with my decision, even though it may be a good one. The more choices we have, says Barry Schwarz, the easier it will be to regret and be disappointed by whatever we end up choosing.

Not making simple decisions when all options are acceptable, is also called “fear of better option” or FOBO, a term coined by Patrick McGinnis, who previously coined the term FOMO, “fear of missing out”.

In FOMO, people are afraid of being left behind on trends in news and social media, so they stick to cellphones and scroll through the websites and timeline for hours. In FOBO, people are unable to make choices for fear that there will always be better choices than the ones they take.

 

TSM Bandung, before Covid-19

So when I decided to delay on choosing from the thousands and millions of tumblers and headsets, I was experiencing the negative effects of an overload of choices. I was in FOBO.

However, in the end, the choice must to be made. I know the best way to make a choice in this case is to let my child choose. She knows her favorite color, shape, brand and function that best suits her  needs.

Indeed, this is not an exciting way to pick up a gift. It's a safe way. Because in this way, I put the decision making responsibility in the hands of the user. At least this is not a decision at a high-risk level, as it is in determining which drugs to treat a disease, for example.

However, it is regrettable that the best way to reduce the effects of regret and FOBO is instead by eliminating the surprise factor which is a source of pleasure when receiving a birthday gift. Well, looks like I have to find some other way to get the surprise in celebrating my daughter's twenty year milestone.