Imagine this: you’re standing in line at Starbucks, waiting for your pumpkin-spiced chai.10 years ago, you might’ve stared at the menu, people watched, or stared off into space. But today, odds are your phone is already in your hand, and you’re already flipping through posts or scrolling on TikTok before the barista even calls your name.
Those empty, in-between moments, the ones that used to bore us, are disappearing. Boredom as we know it, once an unavoidable part of life, is on the verge of extinction, and it’s all because of social media.
At first glance, that doesn’t sound like such a bad thing. Constantly having your phone means that you can get more work done, you’re more up-to-date on current events and social media trends, and you never have a dull moment in your day-to-day life; after all, no one likes being bored.
However, boredom has always played a strange yet important role in the human experience. It’s during boring car rides, long summer afternoons, or sleepless nights that our minds once had room to drift. Psychologists argue that boredom sparks creativity and helps us to process our emotions. Now, those bored, “blank” spaces hardly exist. Social media has made distraction instant, effortless, and infinite. The second that we feel boredom creeping in, we scroll.
Algorithms are designed to keep us engaged for as long as possible, and to make us come back for more. They’re like a drug in your brain that makes you addicted to watching videos and scrolling through people’s feeds. Whether you’re waiting for an Uber, brushing your teeth, or eating lunch, your brain’s first reaction is to pull out your phone. Boredom no longer feels necessary when a world of content is only one click away.
But what does that mean for us? One consequence is that many of us struggle with being still and focused on the world around us. Sitting quietly feels uncomfortable because we’re so used to constantly doing or watching something. Instead of daydreaming, we refresh our feeds; by constantly filling our minds, we may be limiting them.
Of course, it would be unfair to frame social media only as a villain. For many, these platforms provide connections, laughter, education, and even inspiration. They help us stay in touch with friends, discover new music, or learn about global events in real time. The problem isn’t that we use social media; it’s that we’ve allowed it to erase an experience that once had value.
Maybe the challenge isn’t to throw away our phones or delete social media, it’s to relearn the art of boredom. That could mean leaving your phone in your pocket while waiting in line, taking a walk without headphones, or resisting the urge to scroll before you go to bed. At first, it might feel strange, but with that strangeness comes creativity and reflectiveness.
In the end, boredom isn’t going extinct because it has no purpose. We’ve forgotten what it means to feel bored and not constantly pull out our phones the second we have downtime: in short, we’ve replaced boredom with convenience. The question is whether we’ll ever permit ourselves to let our minds wander again. In a world where distraction is endless, boredom may be one of the most radical and beneficial things we can reclaim.
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