I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I’m doing when it feels like I’m doing nothing at all. The dull, slow moments when it feels like everything is lagging — moments when I’m bored.
I experience these moments when I return from a long day of class, refuse to start my homework and I sit and scroll on my phone for hours. Although my brain is occupied, I’m also bored. Sometimes, I also feel bored after reading a textbook for too long or sitting in a lecture that isn’t particularly engaging.
I’m not the only one who has experienced boredom in moments like these. Apparently, studying was “associated with the highest rates of boredom” according to a 2016 study cited in “What does boredom do to us — and for us?” — an article published by The New Yorker. Interestingly, the article mentions that sports or exercise were least associated with high rates of boredom. According to the article, there have been many different theories about boredom throughout time, with philosophers arguing that boredom has to do with the pressures of capitalism or “the vast expansion of administrative jobs” with employers who “spend their entire working lives performing tasks they secretly believe do not really need to be performed.” The article also mentions the idea that boredom is a very modern affliction, possibly due to the demand that we so often must pay attention in today’s society — like in college classes, for example.
Boredom is certainly not a particularly new or novel feeling for me; I strongly associate boredom with some of the downtime I would have in my childhood summers — weeks spent in between slated camps and trips. Looking back, I realize that my boredom felt much more distilled and pure. I truly was doing nothing and had nothing to do, at least nothing I needed to get done.
The New York Times article, “Let Kids Get Bored. It’s Good For Them,” explains how these periods of boredom might have been extremely valuable for my development. The article claims that parents should actually let their children embrace the boredom of slow summer days in order to allow their children to get more comfortable with boredom and experiment with different “pursuits that feel fulfilling and interesting.” The author even suggests that parents put aside time in their children’s schedules and call it “quiet downtime.”
So it seems that actually incorporating boredom into the lives of children can be very beneficial. But does that piece of advice apply for the rest of us? As a busy college student, I definitely don’t prioritize boredom in my routine. My quiet downtime is usually spent with screens to fill the voids of time whilst shortening my attention span.
I was curious if other college students had similar experiences with boredom, specifically if the way they experienced boredom had changed since childhood.
I spoke to rising LSA junior John Flater about his thoughts on experiencing boredom in college. He told me that he feels bored when he’s in between activities outside of his house. He also said that activities where he’s not interacting with people can be boring, as well as activities in which he feels he’s not advancing.
I asked Flater if he felt there was a difference between the boredom he experienced as a child and the boredom he experiences in college. He told me that he felt that before college, kids did things “circumstantially,” since parents and others would decide what their kids would do — for example, putting kids in swim practice, like his parents did. In college, this all changes, as students are now on their own.
“You’re just kind of going out and you’re finding stuff yourself. So if you’re not proactive about that and you’re not out on campus, looking for people, looking for things you want to do, then you’re going to be bored,” Flater said. “Maybe, people are bored, maybe they’re not enjoying what they’re doing. So it’s just never something that people are going to advertise.”
Flater says that nowadays, he doesn’t feel bored very often since he’s been able to fill his time with activities that make him feel productive, like learning data science and studying for the LSAT. However, due to these activities, he sometimes feels that he doesn’t have enough time in the day and can’t be bored, even though these tasks are self-motivated and unstructured.
“There’s a weird balance between being bored and feeling fulfilled,” Flater said.
I’ve been thinking about what Flater said. I find it hard to feel fulfilled if my days do not have any scheduled activities. But at the same time, sometimes my most boring moments happen when I am in a state of fulfillment where all of my needs are met, and I’m not seeking anything. I also feel that boring moments may set up a contrast to life’s more exciting moments, which is a contrast that might lead to a higher sense of fulfillment in general. I would conjecture that being constantly stimulated and unbored might make it harder to feel fulfilled in the long run. I have started to think that it might be important to incorporate boredom into my daily life.
But what does that mean as a college student? Unlike when I was a child, my school week is slammed and my summers are usually taken with internships. I do feel bored sometimes, but it’s more often a function of what I am doing, rather than what I’m not doing. To me, this didn’t seem like the kind of boredom that encourages discovery and creativity. So, what kind of boredom is beneficial?
According to the Time article, “Being Bored Can Be Good for You — If You Do Do It Right. Here’s How,” it is important to make a distinction between boredom and relaxation when trying to infuse boredom into daily life. While relaxing involves “a purposefully tranquil activity, such as yoga or meditation,” boredom is more associated with “trying and failing to find stimulation.” In order to experience boredom in a constructive way, the Times advises us to take a walk on a familiar route or sit with our eyes closed, anything that doesn’t require lots of concentration. It is also important to stay off screens, since they can lower people’s tolerance for boredom.
This kind of constructive boredom is closely correlated with the default state which, according to Mayo Clinic Health System, is when our brains are in sort of a resting state and not engaging in intensive activities. During this period, brain regions act together as a “connected network” and can facilitate the consolidation of memory, reflection, daydreams and problem solving. The default state can be responsible for thinking of creative solutions, since the brain has the ability to think through problems that are not necessarily at the forefront of the mind.
This kind of boredom seems much more intentional than the kind of boredom that would sneak up on me as a kid, suddenly finding myself with nothing to do. It makes sense that as college students, we might have to purposefully include boredom into our busy routines. Personally, I feel that if I’m not busy doing work, I entertain myself in other ways like hanging out with friends, reading or watching TV. I think to an extent, I am uncomfortable with the default state, since I am not used to being bored and letting my mind wander without direction. Even when I have opportunities for my brain to be in the default state, like on my routine walks to class, I rarely let it rest, since I almost always listen to music or podcasts through my AirPods.
I wondered if other college students also felt that they were usually occupied with something. I asked Flater if he ever sits down and literally does nothing.
“Only if I do it intentionally where I’m like, ‘Oh I kind of just want to sit and think about stuff,’ ” Flater said. “But even then it’s like maybe I’ll be listening to music or … so not really, I would say the closest thing is just sitting on your phone.”
From my conversation with Flater, it seems that college students may rarely be in the default state or experiencing boredom, if they are able to fill their time with activities they discover in college. While it is important to work hard and find meaningful pastimes, I do believe the default state is helpful for wellbeing. Since learning about the default state, I have already begun to ride the metro to my internship without trying to occupy myself, staring out the window at the stops that are already so familiar to me.
In that way, I think it might be important to rebrand boredom in my head. I do think that boredom can be a very uncomfortable experience and it is important to be proactive about finding activities that are fulfilling in college. Of course, balance is important. But at the same time, if we think of boredom as creating opportunities for our brains to rest, it might be easier to embrace at least some boredom into our lives as college students.
Statement Correspondent Yael Atzmon can be reached at yatzmon@umich.edu