Boredom on the Brain
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
I’d just finished reading a blog post from a local photographer contemplating the existence of social media in her life. Though that afternoon I felt that I had been “off my phone” just listening to an audiobook, I pressed pause and set the phone down completely. I recalled the guilt I felt the previous weekend, where I’d felt rushed and promised myself I’d slow down when I was visiting with loved ones and really try to be in the moment. Presence- one of the more difficult virtues to achieve these days. So I pushed off into a floaty in the pool, listening to the birds chirping, the occasional plane flying overhead, the neighbour’s chickens clucking in the yard, and the steady hum of a lawnmower somewhere off in the distance.
At first, my mind scattered itself with the list of tasks circling in my mind: the milk I needed to pick up on my drive home, the administration work I needed to complete, the texts I needed to answer, my goals for the week. After a few long minutes of my brain frantically dumping out it’s to-do list, my thoughts began to slowly wander and drift towards more peaceful considerations, like the upcoming cottage trip where I’d be reunited with my best friend. As I floated in the pool, I imagined doing the same at the lake in a few weeks time; the cool water touching my toes, the sounds of people off in the distance on the shore, the lapping of the waves, the walk up the stairs to the cottage with the smell of the barbecue, that sun drenched fatigue. Peace. Rest. My body sank deeper into the floaty and I could feel the tension releasing.
I long to be bored. A sentence my child self would recoil at but adult me leans into. Il dolce far niente – the sweetness of doing nothing. Aside from when I’m in nature or feeding the birds, my mind often feels engulfed in everything going on around me and inside me. There is more to boredom than just the improved ability to be present in the moment though. Boredom can slow time down, and as every adult knows, time is moving much too fast. A study by Mann and Cadman (2014) suggests boredom can help stimulate creativity and that daydreaming may act as a mediator. As we engage with boredom our minds naturally begin to wander, a sort of decompression that allows our creative sides to step forth. Another study (Bench & Lench, 2013) explores the functional contexts of boredom, as it motivates us towards problem solving (a key skill in executive function), goal development and orientation, and action potential. In other words, boredom encourages us to reflect on the current moment and check in with our internal states and feelings, encouraging us to act if we desire change. In this sense, boredom can also act as a helpful indicator, a guiding tool of what truly interests us.
A few months ago, I decided to set limits on social apps and delete TikTok off my phone in pursuit of being more present and allowing time in my life for boredom. I could see the connection between boredom and society’s developing relationship with the phone, with some research even suggesting the pandemic exacerbated this positive correlation (Hu et al., 2025). I peruse it every once in a long while when a friend reaches out asking if I saw the video they sent, “right, I forgot you weren’t on TikTok”. My inbox is mostly videos of places my friends want to visit together: restaurants and uniquely themed cocktail bars, hiking trails, and travel itineraries. I like that these videos result in them reaching out to make plans. I want more connection time. More conversations, less updates. More hugs, less likes. More information that wasn’t consumed or shared “online”. I crave the in-person interaction, even the inevitable fatigue after long social events. My cup runneth over.
I scan the recent video of a French restaurant my friend booked us reservations for, and as I try to swipe the app away my finger slips and videos begin playing automatically. I see familiar faces- strangers IRL but it felt like I knew them after following their content for years. I don’t want to follow content, I want to interact with human beings!! As one video flows into the next, I see another familiar yet forgotten face as my TikTok account formed webs from my absence- they begin discussing recent events in Canadian politics. I’m intrigued, always admiring the way they’re able to convey information in such a digestible way. Though I smile at seeing their face again I can also feel my heart rate begin to speed up. ~You’re not meant to know everything about everywhere~ my mind pleads. I shut the app and take a breath. Right- it’s so easy to get caught in it. These apps are designed to ensnare you and lure you in. It’s a tricky relationship to navigate as smartphones have become an essential part of everyday life. Social media apps are not only used for social connection, but have become a resource for information, network and business building, and opinion sharing platforms. Businesses and educational institutes rely on the internet and nowadays, most even have their own social media accounts. While the internet went public in 1983, smartphones became mainstream around 2010, and we are only just starting to explore our relationship to this relatively new phenomenon.
In the present moment I’m assessing my decreased phone time over the past months, the moments where I’ve been able to slow down and allow boredom. As I drift across the water, I can feel my creative juices flowing. I want to write. I catch the momentary judgemental thought “but are you being too productive still!?”, and I respond to myself, “no, you’ve rested and this is the reward you may reap, but continue floating a little longer, you’ll write the blog later”.
By Erika Belledent
References
Bench, S., & Lench, H. (2013). On the function of boredom. Behavioral Sciences, 3(3), 459–472. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs3030459
Hu, J., Zhao, C., & Yu, T. (2025). The relationship between boredom and smartphone addiction before and after the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Reports. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941251314713
Mann, S., & Cadman, R. (2014). Does being bored make us more creative? Creativity Research Journal, 26(2), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2014.901073