A better way to deal with boredom
Why social media is not a cure for boredom, and what to do instead
Hello,
Over the past year, I re-explored my relationship with boredom and discovered a new perspective on this seemingly negative emotion. My journey began with a 10-day silent meditation retreat and was further enriched through conversations with boredom researcher James Danckert. The following essay is based on his book Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom, the talks I had with him, and the exclusive content he created for my previous startup.
A TL;DR: (which stands for Too Long; Didn’t Read, and presents the take-aways from this issue) is available at the bottom.
Boredom - a call for meaning
Boredom may be unpleasant, leaving us feeling agitated and restless, but it's not all bad. In fact, boredom can be quite useful. It signals us that our current situation is not fulfilling our needs for 1) engagement and 2) meaning.
When boredom strikes, it prompts us to ask, “What should I do now?” However, the responsibility of finding an answer lies with us.
If we fail to reflect on which activity to pursue, we might seek distractions, like binge-scrolling Instagram. Yet, even with more content than we could consume in a lifetime, boredom lingers. The reason? A lack of meaning. Mindlessly browsing social media offers easy engagement, but falls short in fulfilling boredom's need for purpose.
Let’s be clear, it is ok at times to choose passive engagement, to binge watch our favorite Netflix show, to burn a few hours on a video game, or just scroll through our Facebook feed. The key here is that we actively choose to do that. That we don’t simply default to this for a perceived lack of alternatives, but that we consciously decide that now is a time to chill out and consume this content.
To truly address boredom's question “What should I do now?” we need to confront it with intention. We should pay lean in, and ask ourselves what would genuinely engage and nourish us, adding depth to our lives. Better yet, we can arm ourselves with a plan to tackle future bouts of boredom, curating a list of meaningful activities and mindfulness practices, which will ultimately leave little room for ennui.
Boredom is a gift - it pushes us into a search for meaning. We just need to recognize it.
Dachi’s Advice Corner
Today’s advice is from Clo from This Too Shall Grow. She used to be a UX researcher and designer, and is now a certified digital wellness coach.
Here is Clo’s advice":
“A fascinating study published in 2017 revealed that the mere presence of a smartphone disrupts our attention. As it turns out, we are hard-wired to look for new information. Evolutionary speaking, this search for information was essential to our survival: knowing which food we could eat, which animals were predators, which areas were safe, and so on.