You haven't lost anything yet, as you haven't sold them.
If you hold on, history shows that these things grow at an average of 8% annually, even accounting for depressions.
If you hold on, history shows that these things grow at an average of 8% annually, even accounting for depressions.
That's not how it works. The difference between a realized loss and an unrealized loss is only tax consequences. If your shares have a book value of $1200 from when you bought them yesterday and a market value of $1000 right now, you could have bought the same number of shares today and had an additional $200 in cash. You're holding the same number of shares in both scenarios but your net worth is $200 lower if you bought yesterday. Obviously any dividends received since the time of purchase would change the net outcome.
The "you don't lose until you sell" meme is self-rationalization popular on reddit and in the Bitcoin community.