Many of us are so in the habit of retreating to television or Facebook at the first sign of boredom.
Done studying for the night? Throw on the third season of “Dexter” for a couple of hours.
Got a break between classes? Watch some “Family Guy” on Hulu.
Professor just lost your interest? Pull up Facebook and get updated on your friends’ unremarkable day.
Increasingly, we turn to technology to divert us and provide the illusion of meaning whenever reality gets dull and unsatisfying. But even at its dullest organic reality deserves much more attention than most of us give it, rather than “simulated reality.”
Boredom itself isn’t good, but it's an invaluable catalyst.
The condition known as “boredom” is really just a lack of external stimuli to distract us. It is when we are the most present, the most aware of the here and now. It is a blank canvas, an empty void that begs us to express our individuality.
How many advances in science, philosophy, literature, mathematics, art, etc. might not have materialized had boredom always had a simple solution; if there never was a perceivable emptiness to fill?
Prior to the first non-experimental television broadcast in 1935, there wasn’t a single person on the planet who spent 16 hours a week staring at a box. Now, the average 20-24 year old American does just that, according to a 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
Combine that with time spent on social media sites and a substantial chunk of the average student’s free time is dedicated to being deliberately distracted.
Of course, there’s room for some passive forms of entertainment. Shutting your brain off and unwinding for a while is valuable to anybody who works hard. But moderation is key.
Unfortunately, for many people, turning on the tube or checking Facebook is the default solution to every instance of boredom. That’s not moderation. That’s compulsiveness.
We walk around campus with ear buds in, staring at our phones and tapping away text messages, three of our five senses engaged in something other than the people, places and things we’re actually encountering.
Standing in line, waiting for an elevator, a lull in a conversation — all have become occasions for media consumption.
Maybe we’re killing just a little too much of the precious time we have been given. We need to remember to occasionally just be — leave some room for a little organic life to happen.
I know, when boredom arises it is easier and more appealing to take a quick dose of diversionary entertainment than to actually think or do something, but the easiest thing is rarely the best thing.
Consistently reacting to boredom by disengaging undermines the uniquely human ability to discover in ourselves things that surprise us, things that amaze us on top of sources of identity, sources of pride.
Next time things get a little dull, look to yourself or those around you to create entertainment.
Be an actor in your own life’s story, not a spectator of others.
Reach the columnist at dcolthar@asu.edu
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