E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSIt creeps up on you as you sit at your desk. You yawn, scan the web, check Facebook but still the ennui lingers. At some point almost every day we feel bored, at least for a little while. We’ve all experienced that feeling of listlessness, but what is boredom? Is it not having something exciting to do? Is it being unable to pay attention to what you’re doing?
One team of Canadian researchers was apparently interested enough in boredom to find out.
“Intuitively, it is pretty clear that boredom is a common human experience and little research has been done to bear out that fact,” says John Eastwood, an associate professor of psychology at York University in Toronto.
Eastwood and his colleagues observed that people believe boredom relates to their environment: We think if a lecture or a conversation is boring, we can simply change topics to avoid the dullness.
“We attribute [boredom] with problems in the environment rather than the problems with ourselves,” explains co-researcher Mark Fenske, associate professor of neuroscience and applied cognitive science at the University of Guelph and co-author of the book, “The Winner’s Brain.”
But boredom might have more to do with us than uninspired surroundings.
Eastwood and Fenske reviewed descriptions of boredom from existentialist philosophy, psychology and literature and also conducted a study with subjects, where they described how they feel when experiencing ennui. The researchers then crafted a definition encompassing the overlapping ideas from the literature and study. Boredom occurs when we have trouble paying attention to internal and external stimuli needed to enjoy an activity, we realize we struggle to pay attention, and we blame the environment for our lack of enjoyment.
“Our approach is to link [boredom] to attention,” says Fenske. “The fact that we’re able to talk about boredom in terms of attention [means] we’ve already changed the focus.”
Framing ennui in terms of attention is significant because psychologists know how treat attention problems, meaning experts can help people experiencing chronic boredom.
Fenske and Eastwood agree that most people think of boredom as trivial and commonplace, perhaps it’s why researchers haven’t studied it. But boredom can be a sign of more serious problems.
“Boredom can have some horrible effects and we see it associated with pathological states. [There’s a] strong association with depression and boredom and traumatic brain injury and boredom,” notes Fenske. He adds that drug and alcohol abuse counselors know that patients relapse when faced with boredom.
“I think that you can think about it in two ways … boredom is related to addiction, gambling, eating problems … or you can think of chronic, protracted boredom as a problem in its own right,” Eastwood says.
While friends often tease the researchers about their boring research, the two believe their findings provide new areas of study.
“I have no data to support this, but I speculate that people might experience a lot of boredom in modern times because we are experiencing intense entertainment. We’re used to being passively entertained and that constant stimulation puts us at risk for [more] boredom in the future,” Eastwood says.
The paper, “The Unengaged Mind: Defining Boredom in Terms of Attention,” appeared in Perspectives on Psychological Science.
More from The Body Odd:
Bored? That might be a good thing, new book suggests
Want more weird health news? Find The Body Odd on Facebook.
Leave a Comment:
That article HAD to be a joke. Even if it wasn't meant to be funny, the irony of it is stifling...
It drives me nuts when people say "this is so boring", or announce to the world "I'm bored". So do something about it, do you expect someone to entertain you? We have so many things at our disposal to entertain us if we put some thought into it. Even if you are trapped at a brutally dry lecture that you must attend, read the paper, play on your phone, be amused at the other people in the room, create a game - count how many times the lecturer says a certain thing, make a list of things to do when you are done, etc.
I agree totally. It always amazes me that people will come into a discussion online and announce, "I'm bored!" As if we were suddenly responsible for entertaining them.In my job, I worked with tens of thousands of high risk teenagers, who also would say each day, "I'm, bored!" What happened to using the imagination one is born with? Does this have something to do with the ME ME mentality of today? Where people expect others to fix their problems, hand over whatever is needed, so the person doesn't have to invest any thought or energy into their own lives?
A wise teacher once told me when I was very young, that I was a student in the university of life.No one would care more than me about what I invested in myself.And there was a whole incredible world waiting to be discovered, past, present and future.He taught me to love learning. I have never been bored since.The more we put into ourselves, the more keys we have to open doors, options for the mind to choose from. One can't get water out of a reserve they haven't filled before hand, fruit to pick from a tree they never have planted or tended. Nor harvest and store for a time of need, field crops not planted from seeds and tended. Without the sacrifice and care before hand, the mind starves for want and boredom flourishes.
I find that when my work projects slow down after a long stretch of intensive focus on meeting timelines, I suddenly have a feeling of "What the hell am I going to do now? ". Then I remember the 50 books or so I put aside, the languages I wanted to learn (Danish now), the places I wanted to travel, etc.... A brief spate of boredom might be necessary to rest the brain before transitioning to something new.
Bored, and it's my own fault? I haven't quit laughing yet. Anytime my children said they were bored, I gave them something to do. They quit being bored. hahahahaha
I'll never be bored. I have far too much to do. And of course, there had to be a "study" to prove boredom. (I wish the "studiers" would study something useful, or maybe they're too bored with other subjects.) As for extreme entertainment--I can entertain myself by throwing pebbles in a pond. Give a kid a stick and frog, and you've got the world spinning. My kitties at home chase their tails, and it's good pure fun. If we need to be extreme to be entertained, then we have the wrong values.
hahahahahahaha bored? hahahahahaha
Boredom are signs of a lack of imagination, interests, hobbies, and brain power.
Boredom is more closely linked with apathy. Brilliant, creative, talented people get bored sometimes. I find that boredom comes more easily to a tired mind, whether it be due to lack of rest or emotional or mental overstimulation over an extended period of time. Apathy is an amazingly useful tool the brain uses when it needs downtime.
Brilliant and creative people are never bored; I don't know who you've been talking to. Always having something on their mind is what makes such people brilliant and creative. Talent, however, has little to do with cognition.
I remember that when I was a kid, when I was bored, it wasn't because I was used to being entertained and wasn't at that moment (I was pretty easygoing and not overstimulated, generally). It was because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do, and thus ended up doing nothing. It's a bit like announcing that there's nothing to eat when the house is full of food. It was a strange sort of indecisiveness that even now I sometimes get as an adult: I want to watch a movie, but I can't decide which movie, so I guess I won't watch anything, but now I'm bored.
I really don't know how to fix this, because I'd love to be bored less often. But it's not as easy as saying "teach yourself to be more decisive!" I know from personal experience that is BS. It's a brain chemistry phenomenon, and in my case I can buy that it's linked to depression.
But this article's ridiculous headline? Someone fix that, please, this report doesn't come close to saying it's your own fault if you're bored!
I am bored with this article
The only people in this world who are bored are people who are boring.
Boring to who? Doesn't that automatically make the people who are bored by bored people boring?
From the beginning of time Moms have been telling their kids this.
Anyone who says they're bored is guilty of not fully utilizing their brain. If outside stimulus doesn't occupy your attention, then you need to generate inside stimulus. It sounds silly, but one of the best exercises I ever tried to break my writer's block is to tell myself a story, in my head. Make it about anything you want. Make it as serious, or as silly, or as fantastical or as emotional as you want it to be. Just think of a character and place them in a world in your mind, and see where your idling mind takes him or her. Assert control when you get good ideas for drama, action or other intense scenes. Once you've gotten into the habit of doing this, you'll never be bored again, because any time your mind is idle, you can jump back into the story and continue it. The point isn't to make a story for anyone else to read — this story is just for you, so you can add, change or subtract back story as needed.
It not only works through writer's block like nobody's business, but it builds your imagination, your creativity and your skills in creating compelling, interesting characters and situations. Plus, it means that you're rarely without a bedtime story to tell the kids (that is, unless your mind is obsessed with X-rated material) :D.
Is the mental health authority going to label boredom as a (another) psychological syndrome. Then they can prescribe more drugs and more counceling. This will give bored people a reason to whine. It's not their fault. They're sick. Give me a break!
I am on day 3 of my vacation from work. I have to take it or lose it. I work 5 and a half days a week(sometimes more if i get called in) along with a co worker and friend of mine. The wife works too.I would not be typing this if i was not a little bored .
Day one i did my honey do list . Day two i rode my motorcycle it needed to be rode and i worked out on my elliptical machine . Day 3 , i am looking forward to survivor and the VP debates.
I may never retire , not because i need the money but work gives me a social program.
I wasn't bored before I read this article,can't say the same now.
You got to admit the article might have been boring but the comments presented here on postings are not. I get humor and thought provoking stimuli from what other people think and say. Is this boring to you?
I believe a lot of people become bored simply for the fact that they seek joy and happiness in external things such as other people, money (and material objects), food, etc. Too many people are not content and happy within themselves. It's too bad, really.
There is no reason to be bored or stay bored, in my opinion. I grew up way before the computer/technology age. People had much more to accomplish than. Moms worked longer taking care of the laundry, house and meals and sometimes worked outside the home, as well. Dads worked long hours and did harder labor, depending on their job. Kids used their imagination to entertain themselves or played simple games neighborhood games and got lots of excercise. Kids played outside and with neighbor kids more and enjoyed the fresh air. We weren't given all the instant gratification, entertainment they have today. Times were simpler, yet harder, but you hardly ever heard anyone say "I'm bored." Today kids have so much. We all have so much. We have hi-tech appliances, smart phones, internet w/many options, huge screen tv's with hundreds of channels, an array of gaming units, you name it...yet almost everyday I hear someone, esp. a kid or teen, say "I'm bored." I just feel there is so much selfishness and expectation in this world today. There is no reason for anyone to be bored or stay bored. If you're bored, get up and do something. Take a walk, read a book, exercise, bake something, call someone, take a class, work on a craft or project that needs done. Fix something, clean something, get involved in a charity or community group. Use the mind God gave you to do something good and constructive. There is always something productive a person can find to do, to not be bored. Being bored is just a lazy excuse for wanting someone to entertain us.
Soon, regular television shows will be boring, and that's when we'll start turning to more sinister forms of entertainment. It won't be long before gladitorial games will be on the TV and in sports arenas.
It's a condition that afflicts everyone time and again, but a team of Canadian Researcher's paper relates boredom to eating disorders and gambling, I suppose we can now classify over eaters, and bettors simply bored. I think it's the other way around, people go about eating and gambling because they're bored, that or go shopping.