You might think boredom a bad thing. I did. When a kid, I complained to my mother, “I’m bored.”
“Go play,” she’d say.
I did. And today my passion is to imagine all kinds of stuff. The only difference is today I have a mug of coffee nearby and I write down the stuff I invent.
To prove my mother was smarter than I gave her credit for, I’ll cite Melbourne Child Psychology’s insights: “Boredom gives children an inner quiet that helps with imagination and self-awareness. Creative processes can stimulate interests that will stay with the child for life. Children develop creative skills when they have to come up with solutions to boredom (melbournechildpsychology.com.au).
The problem is kids avoid boredom by latching onto social media like an emphysema patient clings to an oxygen mask. But instead of clean, life-giving air, they ingest angst, fear, depression and self-recrimination.
On Jan. 31, the heads of X (Twitter), Meta (Facebook), Instagram, Snap and TikTok were grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Josh Hawley, with whom I usually don’t see eye to eye (more like eye to WHA …?!), had Mark Zuckerberg apologizing to parents who lost their children to suicide (bullied) and accidental overdosing (fentanyl, etc.).
Up until now, Congress has instituted only minor legislation to curb content. In earlier Senate hearings, CEOs made hollow, disingenuous promises to curb minors’ access to toxic sites. Sen. Peter Welch “questioned executives about their massive cost-cutting efforts last year that resulted in … layoffs affecting employees … in their respective trust-and-safety programs.” (nbcnews.com, Jan. 31)
Reporter Kaetlyn Liddy recorded senators’ more memorable quotes:
“If you’re waiting on these guys to solve the problem, we’re gonna die waiting.” – Lindsey Graham
“Your platforms really suck at policing themselves.” – Sheldon Whitehouse
My previous column focused on social media’s algorithms pushing divisiveness and enmity among Americans in order to ramp up company revenue with ads as negative posts generate more scrolling than positive. Making venomous content available to teens and preteens may be even more nefarious than manipulating adults into speaking, thinking and behaving caustically.
Both populations need more boredom. Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic reports, “Instead of short-term relief from boredom, many people spend hours on electronics. While scrolling TikTok or watching YouTube videos … an hour or two can pass without a person realizing it. For all that time spent, people don’t necessarily feel refreshed. Rather, most people experience greater fatigue.” (mayoclinichealthsystem.org, Sept. 14, 2023)
Boredom or the lack of digital stimulation – screens – invites “a creative time and it can lead to finding creative solutions,” the Mayo Clinic continues. “While in the shower, the person can’t escape or play a game on a phone. The brain is thinking through something almost effortlessly and often coming up with solutions to problems that have been in the back of the mind.
“Another example is when a person takes a nature walk. ... Within the first five minutes, the person gradually gets used to the environment, reducing anxiety. The rest of the walk, the brain starts to rest and wander. ... During this time, the brain is involved in creative thinking and finding interesting solutions.” (mayoclinichealthsystem.org, Sept. 14, 2023)
Have you ever returned from a beach, mountain or lakeside vacation feeling liberated from the obsession to check social media? You experience less anxiety, frustration, anger and helplessness.
You might even be bored and find the taste of it more delicious than that Hawaiian luau.
• Rick Holinger has taught English and creative writing on several academic levels. His writing appears in Chicago Quarterly Review, Chautauqua, The Southern Review and elsewhere. His poetry, “North of Crivitz,” and essays, “Kangaroo Rabbits and Galvanized Fences,” are available at local bookstores, Amazon or richardholinger.net. Contact him at editorial@kcchronicle.com.