The last time you stood in a queue, what did you do with your hands? For most of us the answer is the same: we reached for the phone before the feeling had time to arrive. That feeling has a name, and it may be more useful than it seems.
What boredom is
Psychologists describe boredom as the unpleasant feeling of wanting to do something satisfying and not finding it. One account, the MAC model, says it appears when what you are doing does not fit your attention or does not feel meaningful (Westgate & Wilson, 2018). Another says its job is to move you on: to make you drop what is not working and look for a better goal (Bench & Lench, 2013).
In other words, it is unpleasant on purpose. Silencing it with a screen is a bit like switching off a smoke alarm because it is loud.
We would rather do almost anything
Science, 2014
Wilson et al.: “Just think”
People sat alone with their thoughts for 6 to 15 minutes. Most did not enjoy it. In one version they could give themselves a mild electric shock, which they had already said they would pay to avoid. In the 15-minute session, 67% of the men and 25% of the women shocked themselves at least once.
The catch: Small lab experiments with a mild shock. They show how hard an empty mind can be, not that phones are harmful.
What a dull moment can do
If boredom is a signal to look for something better, you might expect it to feed ideas. Two lab studies point that way.
- People who first spent a few minutes on a dull task, reading names and numbers from a phone book, then thought of more uses for a pair of plastic cups than people who had not (Mann & Cadman, 2014).
- After working on a creativity problem, people who took a break with an undemanding task that let their mind wander did better on returning to it than people who had a demanding task, a quiet rest or no break (Baird et al., 2012).
Keep it in proportion. Creativity is hard to measure and these were short experiments with narrow tasks. They are a good reason to try leaving gaps in your day, not a guarantee of ideas.
Could this matter beyond you?
Here is an idea, and it is only an idea. If nobody ever felt restless with what already exists, what would push anyone to explore, to build or to ask a question nobody had asked? If boredom is the feeling that moves people toward better goals, then a world that never lets anyone feel it may have fewer new ideas. Nobody has tested that, and it is hard to see how anyone could. Treat it as a question to sit with, ideally without your phone.
The other side
Boredom is not a virtue, and more is not better. Bored people can also reach for worse ways out, and people who often feel bored report lower mood and heavier phone use (Elhai et al., 2018). That is a link, not a proven cause. If constant boredom or flatness is a big part of your life, please talk to a doctor. This is not medical advice.
Try five minutes
- Pick one regular dead moment: the queue, the kettle, the first five minutes of a journey.
- Leave the phone in your pocket. When you feel the pull, notice it. You do not have to obey it.
- Keep a small notebook for whatever shows up.
- Add time only if you like it.
References
- Baird, B., et al. (2012). Inspired by distraction: Mind wandering facilitates creative incubation. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1117–1122.
- Bench, S. W., & Lench, H. C. (2013). On the function of boredom. Behavioral Sciences, 3(3), 459–472.
- Elhai, J. D., et al. (2018). Proneness to boredom mediates relationships between problematic smartphone use with depression and anxiety severity. Social Science Computer Review, 36(6), 707–720.
- Mann, S., & Cadman, R. (2014). Does being bored make us more creative? Creativity Research Journal, 26(2), 165–173.
- Westgate, E. C., & Wilson, T. D. (2018). Boring thoughts and bored minds: The MAC model of boredom and cognitive engagement. Psychological Review, 125(5), 689–713.
- Wilson, T. D., et al. (2014). Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind. Science, 345(6192), 75–77.