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Boredom, even though it has a negative connotation, is good for the soul. The next time you try curbing your boredom with scrolling, think twice!"
Do you feel bored anymore? Boredom is a weird feeling. Symptoms of boredom include restlessness and disinterest due to a lack of stimulation…but when was the last time any one of us has had no overwhelming stimulation? Everywhere you look nowadays, it’s rare to see someone disengaged from their devices. Phones, specifically, have been a controversial topic within the last decade as they have been quickly advancing. With phones being a daily part of our lives, people tend to use them during transition periods: after finishing a task, when you first wake up, or even in the bathroom. This leaves no time for our brains to be bored.
Most of our days are spent on a device. Whether it’s for work or leisure, most people find themselves on screen. Time is being taken away from your life and your attention span is getting shorter. This shift has altered how we process our own thoughts. When we’re constantly using technology to avoid our feelings or thoughts, our brain is being trained to ignore something fundamental to how we function. Instead of learning to process those feelings, we are not allowing them to be expressed, thus limiting our emotional intelligence.
I believe there is significant importance in boredom. We have lost the art of creating things—whether that be physical or digital—thinking critically, and just sitting down and having a conversation with someone due to the constant input our phones are spitting at us. With our lives revolving around technology, people become uncomfortable not having a connection to the world via their phones. This has led to a greater connectivity with the globe, but a decrease in connection to our surroundings, thoughts, and feelings.
I have had multiple conversations with my parents about how they grew up phoneless and what they did for fun when they were bored. They couldn’t doomscroll, so instead, they spent their time outside until the sun went down. They created games to play with their friends out of any materials they could find, listened to music, read books, or even rearranged their bedrooms. When we’re not given something so powerful, such as a phone, our brains innovate and produce more than you’d think.
Next time you are sitting down and doomscrolling, maybe choose to do something you don’t do much anymore! For me, this would be reading romance novels, baking, or doing something fun with friends. It’s important to give yourself a break from constant input and either let your brain slow down or create something. We were not designed to receive constant input, especially without any output. I believe in creating physical outputs through forms of art or creativity. This could be painting something, doing a craft, or even something as simple as drawing a picture.
If we don’t allow ourselves to be bored, our creativity, imagination, and thinking skills decline. Being on our phones at all hours of the day doomscrolling isn’t helping our brains; our attention spans are shortening and we’re not using the parts of our brain that create and ultimately help us in work, school, and problem-solving. A natural “default mode” starts working when your brain is bored and this manages things like self-reflection, daydreaming, and memory. It's a state of boredom when our minds have the best ideas because we allow our brains space.
Some of the best ways to incorporate boredom into our lives is to take time away from any stimulation. Maybe go on a walk without headphones, shower without music, or just sit in silence for a while. Sitting with our thoughts is healthy and we don’t do it enough. By stepping away from the noise, we can restore focus and spark creativity, which is what makes us human.