A Defense of Boredom
I’m sorry?
What are you doing here? Honestly, just answer the question. Why are you reading this article? Is it boring you?
You must be bored. You must be truly bored. You must be more bored than the most bored and fed up poor soul on the planet. As such, here you are, reading this article.
We all get bored. Theoretically, yes, we do have exams and assignments coming up to keep us busy. Realistically though, that is no fun. It’s not as exciting as a hawking gulp of fried ice cream or a viciously thrilling ride on a roller coaster. It is in this excruciatingly unnerving fashion that we turn to our cosmopolitan best friends: infinite scrolling through social media — our most beloved waste of time.
In the past year, mobile web traffic has increased by 4 percent, whilst mobile application usage ranks 7 times more than mobile web browsers. It is apparent that day by day we have started to use our social media applications more and more. We’ve all seen it, too! It is seen every time we try to escape a remotely awkward encounter by pulling up our phones and scrolling through our feeds, as though we know there is something more interesting there. We usually do not wish to embrace a second in an awkward silence; we want to look immediately busy. Sometimes this is a good thing when our friends and family wish to share their precious moments. Oftentimes though, it’s a menace — we’re doing it for the sake of doing it, and nothing more.
Before I go on, I must clarify that I am no old hag here to attack social media, rather I am here to defend boredom. Instant access to social media is only the greatest enemy. I’m not being indirect — we really do need to get bored more, and this is for a single reason: inspiration.
Boredom is not a curse, but a means to be inspired to do something else with your damn life. Isaac Newton sat under a tree doing nothing when an apple hit his head (allegedly, at least), inspiring an understanding of gravitational force. If we keep resorting to our phones the second we have nothing to do, that could be all we will do.
Take the time to sit in one place and do nothing. Will you suddenly invent science? No, you won’t. Nevertheless, you could compel yourself to try something new. Perhaps you had a knack for drawing but never honed your skills, or you realize that you actually enjoy a little meditation and can take time out for it. Sitting alone with yourself can leave you thinking, wondering, and pondering about anything and nothing at the same time. In the event that you get bored during a conversation with someone new, it can force you to keep talking and find a further connection through the abrasive awkward silence. Frankly, the argument here
is not to stop using social media, rather stop using it too much.
But wait, how much is too much? For example, according to my mother, it is every single time that I use it. According to me, however, it is any time you use it to get out of boredom. You can use that time to find inspiration instead. Now, since this article has come to it’s end, you may now continue scrolling down your feed back again! I won’t judge. Trust me!
