On the importance of boredom
Boredom is an important component of the human condition. But the information age drowns out boredom with ever more consumption. Let's explore how we can redeem boredom and its positive effects.
Boredom is a catalyst for creativity, meaningful work, and ultimately a happier life. But boredom has a bad rep. We all try to escape it. And in the current information age, it becomes easier and easier to do so. Below I will dive into how the information age is slowly eradicating boredom and how we can create regular breaks for ourselves fostering its positive effects.
If you weren't bored, did you even have a childhood?
When I was 15 years old, I used to spend a lot of time in front of a computer. Playing video games and chatting with friends filled most of my free time. At some point, I got bored with video games and started playing around with video editing tools. The idea was to try and create a short video of a winter holiday. Armed with some old skiing videos and Windows movie maker I got to work. Little did I know that this would lead to me building a small media company when I turned 19. What fueled me when I first started editing my first video was a great amount of free time, which gave way to boredom.
Boredom - a catalyst for self-exploration
In essence, boredom is a felt lack of stimulation. By creating a depleted state of sensory input we start craving new information. This motivates us to try out new things, to rethink what we have done before, or to realize what has been important to us all along.
Thus, I believe boredom helps us in at least three distinct ways: reflection - focus - exploration/creativity. All those aspects support the creation of individuality and self-actualization. By reflecting, we get to listen inside of us and decide what we want to do. With the noise of everyday live fading away, we are open for introspection and to realize what moves us independently of others. Next, the sensory depletion helps us to focus on the things we deem important. No external input interrupts us in fully committing to exploring, creating or acting on our beliefs. Lastly, with our boredom at hand, we start exploring the topics without pressure. We are open to detours because we feel like we have plenty of time at hand.
The information age - are you informed yet?
In the 21st century, we have created a symbiosis with technology. Our smartphones and computers are extensions of ourselves. In almost constant interplay with approx. 86 billion neurons in our brains. (case in point: it took me 5 secs to look up that number). In many ways, it is a blessing. But with any tool, it is best used specifically.
The new connectedness fills our lives with constant stimulation. Any second someone is bored, one can jump onto a news page, social media or video platform to get rid of the aching feeling. With just about an infinite amount of videos, photos, music, podcasts etc. to find, one gets to be captured in the never-ending state of blissfully focused consumption.
Our tools are not making it easier for us. The media platforms we use, live of our attention. By keeping us engaged, they generate revenue. So we find ourselves checking our phones every 2-minute break we get: making coffee, standing in line, on the toilet, in bed, walking from one room to another...you get the point. The moments of day-dreaming are being counted.
Boredom is suffocated by constant streams of information. Unfortunately, most of that information is irrelevant to our lives in the here and now. We believe we stay informed. We believe we are in touch with friends. However, I challenge anybody to recount just 5 posts they have seen on their media streams today. With most of the information immediately forgotten, it’s existence remains pure entertainment for the moment.
Towards an information diet
With our brains still being wired like 100.000 years ago, we crave information like we crave sugar. We have learned to regulate our nutritional intake, realizing the consequences of unrestricted consumption. I believe, we now need to do the same with information consumption. Make no mistake: information, like sugar, is essential. But without a strategy, we will miss out on a healthy and fulfilling life. Unfortunately, like with food, this takes effort. Individually, we need to decide what we want to consume and when. So that we avoid having too many unhealthy information “snacks”.
With this in mind, I would advise strategies for focused consumption of selected content combined with regular windows of fasting. So that we create space in between for boredom. Let's get uncomfortable again. Let's get bored again. So that we can explore and realize what makes us uniquely happy.
PS: Thank you to several friends for their help on this piece.