Boredom—it’s something we probably all experience at some time or another, but some people are more prone to it than others. Let’s start off our boredom discussion with a definition. While there is no single agreed-upon definition, I like this one:
“Boredom represents a negative experience commonly arising in situations deemed deficient in meaning, interest, and challenge, and is thought to motivate us to remediate these deficiencies by modifying behaviors or situations.”
Struk, Carriere, Cheyne, & Danckert, 2015
The authors cited above developed a test to measure boredom called A Short Boredom Proneness Scale, which consisted of the following items:
- “I often find myself at ‘loose ends,’ not knowing what to do.
- I find it hard to entertain myself.
- Many things I have to do are repetitive and monotonous.
- It takes more stimulation to get me going than most people.
- I don’t feel motivated by most things that I do.
- In most situations, it is hard for me to find something to do or see to keep me interested.
- Much of the time, I just sit around doing nothing.
- Unless I am doing something exciting, even dangerous, I feel half-dead and dull.”
Who gets bored
Some research has suggested that males are more prone to boredom than females, and boredom proneness tends to decrease with age, with people being more boredom-prone in their late teens compared to their 20s. People with higher levels of self-control who are better able to self-regulate their emotions, cognitions, and behaviours tend to be less prone to boredom. Self-control tends to increase with age, which may be why boredom becomes less of an issue.
Depression, hostility, and spontaneous mind-wandering were also associated with boredom proneness. Deliberate mind-wandering was not linked with boredom, and the researchers suggested that difficulty directing and sustaining attention could be the reason for the link to spontaneous mind-wandering.
When might we get bored?
I can think of a few different kinds of scenarios where boredom can occur:
- when you’re stuck in a tedious situation you can’t get out of, like listening to someone speak about something completely uninteresting
- being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do
- being at work with no work to do
- doing uninteresting tasks
- continuing to read/watch a book/show that doesn’t interest you but you feel like you’ve put in the time already so you might as well finish it
- wanting to be stimulated but not being able to come up with anything that does the trick
- wanting to do something in particular but being unable to for some reason, and anything else seems so much less interesting in comparison
- not finding any interest in things you try doing
- being unable to think of anything to do
It seems like there are two broad types of situations in which boredom might occur. One is when there are situational constraints that limit what you’re able to engage in at a given point in time. The other is more of an internal issue, with difficulty generating ideas or interest even when there are no external limitations on what you can do. Situational boredom strikes me as something that’s likely to happen to anyone, whereas internal boredom seems like it could depend more on personality and thinking styles.
Getting personal
I used to have a hard time keeping myself entertained at work when there was no work to do. Aside from that, though, I’ve never been particularly boredom-prone. I’ve always liked reading, and that was an easy thing to do if nothing else happened to present itself. I used to do a lot of solo travelling, and there was a fair bit of down time on planes, trains, and automobiles, which I was fine with. While I don’t have a particularly vivid imagination to roam about with, I am comfortable hanging out in my head.
I don’t need a lot of stimulation to keep me amused. I spend the vast majority of my time at home alone (aside from the guinea pigs), and usually I don’t have much of a problem keeping myself occupied. I’m good with low-key activities and even just sitting watching the guinea pigs or watching the birds outside my window. Repetitive and monotonous tasks can actually be a nice way of doing something without needing to come up with the energy to engage my brain. I did a ton of colouring while I was in hospital recently, and I found it was a very easy way to pass the time.
I suppose I experience boredom sometimes with depression, although I’m not sure that it’s entirely the same thing. The apathy runs deeper, and even things I normally like, including the guinea pigs, lose any shine. Sometimes things that normally occupy my time become aversive, and it’s hard to find a way to pass the time that isn’t actively unpleasant. When it gets like that, time passes very slowly. I don’t usually think of it as boredom, though, because it’s less not having anything to do and more not wanting to do anything.
So that’s me; now it’s over to you. Do you tend to get bored easily? In what kind of situations do you find boredom hits the hardest?
Interesting post 😀
I’m not very boredom prone and never have been (although I found the correlation with mind-wandering interesting). I’m also a reader. I wonder if there’s a connection there, some imagination switch that gets turned on that makes boredom less likely?
I agree that the apathy and like of depression aren’t quite boredom.
I hadn’t thought of the reading-imagination link, but yeah, I bet that’s true.
I feel/get bored when there is nothing in particular that I WANT to do. When everything available to me is of no interest at the moment – not even daydreaming.
That’s when it’s time to stare at the curtains!
It’s been a year since I got those curtains and they still delight me! Actually my husband has said the same thing – “Well open the windows a bit and then just sit and look at your curtains”…
😁
Oh my God I can get really low when I get bored haha. I think it’s probably my ADHD. Usually it depends on the day, most days lately have been really great! But every so often I’ll feel myself just sitting and it really annoys me to my core. Depression hits big time in those moments. But there’s lots of ways out of it, for sure! Videogames, walking, exercising, anime, all sorts of stuff work pretty well for me!
Sounds like great strategies!
Do you tend to get bored easily? In what kind of situations do you find boredom hits the hardest?
I really don’t. I have a very vivid and always diversifying imagination. Plus my mother taught us how to amuse ourselves when we were with her. We’d play card games, board games, go outside and climb a tree or explore the neighborhood or play…mine was a generation before the idiot box (TV) and computers and X-boxes and the like took over the world we know.
During COVID myself and my older cousin would laugh (privately) at those who wailed about ‘being bored”…It was quite lovely to me (aside from the death and the further upheaval of things that had begun to break down anyway). But I’m an introvert and so is my cousin. And we know how to amuse ourselves or how to find something that will.
I carry a paper back version of a puzzle book around with me and when stuck somewhere, I’ll whip it out and do a puzzle or two (depending on time factor). My tablet has several fun game apps on it (a jigsaw puzzle one for one) and a lot of e-books. I can read if I’m stuck.
Maybe it comes down to the individual’s ability to amuse themselves? And as you mention, there is no ‘gold standard’ for normal versus not normal boredom. Several factors might impact what seems to be a low level of activity too. Illness, pain, different time constraints.
I don’t think today’s generation of young people is ever taught how to amuse themselves and I’m sure that’s a huge factor in their boredom too. And maybe I’m full of opinions and not much else? Could be! 😉
Carry around a puzzle book is a good idea.
I agree regardin young people now not learning how to amuse themselves without devices. Creative play strikes me as such an important thing for child development.
I find one reason I might find myself bored is out of contrast. I might like to read a book, but if I’m strongly looking forward to going to a theme park that day for example, trying to read a book to pass the time can feel tedious.
Isn’t always the case though, like if I was starting to get a headache from all the spinning rides, a book might feel good. Then again, I guess you can still argue that it’s about contrast in that I had a headache and wanted to do something which wouldn’t make it worse.
Yeah, I can definitely see how contrast would make a difference.
I say I don’t get bored and I have never been bored. Even as a kid, I always found something to do.
But, from a list of suggestions you gave, I have been in one scenario a couple of times and that’s watching a film that after a while, I thought this is going to be crap. But because I already watched a majority at this point, I carried on watching till the end. And did it get any better? No. This has happened with two films within this past year I watched till the end, even though rubbish. Just in case it got better and because of how much I already watched.
I don’t watch many films, but I sometimes do that with books.
You’re right, I’d see there as being two types of boredom because one is situational (bored, nothing to do, the situation is repetitive or dull) and bored because you feel dried up and uninspired. I guess, albeit stereotyping wildly, those with a greater sense of imagination and creativity are less likely to feel the latter, but they could also be more prone to the former because they dislike the dull times or they need more freedom for creativity and dislike repetitiveness. xx
Good points. 💕
I definitely get bored easily. But I think a good portion of that is unmanaged ADHD and just being easily distracted off a task in general.
That makes sense.
I get bored with the shit I HAVE to do rather than with nothing TO do. Nothing to do inspires me to become more creative, whereas too much to do makes me want to forget about it and go take a nap.
Yeah, boring must-do’s are yucky.
Yes the points you have explained are apt, I seriously get bored even lose interest at work easily. You wrote it well!🙏🙏
Thank you! 😊
These days I rarely get bored. I can’t even remember the last time I experienced boredom!
But in my late teens, man was I a bored — and boring — bummer! The last time I remember contemplating boredom was when I was a teen in the psychiatric ward. My church pastor came to visit, and I told him I was bored. He told me anger is the root of boredom, and asked what I was angry about. At that time, I felt stuck in an unpleasant situation I felt I had no ability to change. Thankfully, I’ve developed a deep sense of responsibility over my own well-being since then. Now I believe that if I seem to be stuck in a place, it just means I haven’t discovered the way out yet. Boredom gone!
Thanks for this post 💕
That sounds like a very healthy perspective! ❤️
I get bored very easily. Others have commented throughout my life that they have noticed this. I do notice that it has lessened with age, and I also find it occurs most often when I’m alone at home. It happens much less when I’m away from home (maybe because of the variety of eternal stimuli.)
While I am not certain of this, I relate my tendency to become easily bored to my untreated ADHD. It seems to have been lessened during rare periods of my life when I’ve been properly treated.
That seems like a likely explanation.
I notice I get bored much more easily since we’ve started carrying computers around with us. If my phone isn’t charged or is inaccessible for whatever reason, I get anxious antsy. I don’t like it but it’s true. At least with waiting on-line or on the phone, I can keep myself busy on the other. haha
Oh lawd! I have been bored for what seems like a life time. The home/work routine kills my creativity. But hey, I’m stable! 😒
Oh that’s too bad 🙁
Sometimes, I get restless which, for me, means bored. Usually when I’m too tired or depressed to work on any of the projects that usually keep me busy 🙂
I’ve had the restless-bored thing before, but t’s weird, reading your comment made me realize that it’s been a long time since I last felt restless.
That’s good 🙂