I have gotten bored over so much in my life, I would say boredom has made up 50% of my life. I question an existence where I have to sit and listen, work dreadfully throughout the day, then those few moments of free time fly by so fast once you get into it, then tomorrow begins the cycle again. But this has helped me develop coping mechanisms to NOT be bored- I hallucinate in my head, I play music, I doodle on notebooks, I tap my fingers, anything. It really is kind of your job to make your life interesting, because if you sit in the shadows all day and mope to yourself you will never get anywhere or do anything exciting or new.
The word boredom I think, is a state of mind, it is painful, but it helps define our pain. It hasn't really changed, because when I'm bored, I always feel the same way, just wanting to do something with my time or else I feel a sense of guilt for not using my time wisely. I think boredom is necessary for everyone, especially children, because I've seen little kids with iPads and iPhones- so the parents don't have to deal with kids complaining out of boredom, and it makes me worry for the next gen. Kids like that will lack social skills, thinking skills, and the inability to deal with boredom.
I agree that bordom can lead to creativity , self-disapline, and becoming reasourceful because i believe that being bored opens the brain for open new thoughts. It widens your imiginaton to be creative and for some that be be artistic , cooking or it can even create a new hobbie. As for self disapline I believe that sometimes your voice in your head talk to you sometimes its humbling sometimes it tells your to make bad decisions but theres reasons for the phrase "think before your speak". Then to be resouce full you can be excersizing , doing homework, learning something new, going on walks etc. Doing something useful to you.
I go to school for about half of the day, everyday monday through friday. After school is over I have a lot of free time to do what I want, I do any work that I need to finish for school, I help my family, I take a nap cause mentally ill end up exhausted and that can take up my whole day, and i'll still say i'm bored. I say i'm bored not because i didn't do anything, but because it wasn't something i found interesting or brought me joy, I wanted to do something that would have brought me fulfilment instead of feeling like it was forced, I wanted to do something that i wanted to do, not something that someone else had planned.
1. I define boredom as when you have nothing to do and you may feel useless. My idea of boredom has most definitely changed as ive gotten older. Boredom can be very useful for someone's state of mind, you can really think about life. I dont think of it as I thought of it as a 4 year old.
2. I feel like your life doesn't need to be interesting, I feel like thats when someone might crave something else. By that I mean, someone isn't truly happy so they try to change their life up. I remember I always tried to not be bored but eventually you just embrace it and figure out you're not really bored. But thats just how i think of that, I believe boredom is just a state of mind.
3. I definitely agree that you should always be striving for a goal rather than just being useless and doing nothing with time. But sometimes someone needs to do that, especially children. I would not force a kid to start doing something because they shouldn't be worrying about dealing with life that young. Let them relax and let them do what they please. If my kid is around 18, then id be on their case asking when they would be working etc.
4. I most definitely agree that boredom can lead to great things. I feel like when you're one with your own thoughts you can actually communicate with yourself and see how everything is inside. You may not know you needed any mental health but most people do. Life isn't always full of rainbows and sunshines, people have issues and thats normal. And sometimes you just have to recognize those issues. For example, I had the house to myself for a whole week and I remember coming home after school everyday and not knowing what to do, I remember my usual activities were not entertaining anymore. So from a little help of other stuff I remember getting to my deep problems, I remember having conversations with myself about how I was truly feeling and why that was. From now on I always check up on myself, because we also have to check up on ourselves just like we check up on others. You'd be surprised how much you can truly find out about yourself.
hello um...
I have been bored so many times and well I just stair at a wall in my foster house and I am 13 years old I came into the foster program when I was 9 years old I have 4 bio siblings and 9 not bio and its hard but i just keep pushing through so being bored is not that hard to pass through so ya.
I have around 40 hours total of free time every week. I will normally go fishing, watch a movie or hang with friends or family. I feel bored around probably half of the free time because I have to try and figure out a way to entertain myself.
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I do believe boredom is a state of mind. You can just not do anything without getting bored. And boredom can definitely boost your creativity. When you are bored, your mind is less likely to think about stressful topics. Instead, it will most likely think "outside the box" and find ways to enjoyably use your time. For example, I like to draw a lot. I have my best ideas when my mind is bored, since it is not thinking too much about it, and instead, it is just thinking about things you wouldn't normally think if you were stressed, focused, or occupied.
everyone has boardem but its everyones choice to be not bored. You could be around friends family or pets. Even paint a picture color in a book. It could even be as simple as just taking a walk or watching a movie. when im bored i go skateboarding or play videogames go for a walk clean my room .
@Robert soto I agree with you, many people can just do something that can make them not bored, but at the same time a lot of people could be busy and they'll be left with nothing but feeling bored, because they can't do something they enjoy.
Yes it is our job, because your not going to rely on some else to keep your life interesting and not boring. There are many ways to deal with boredom like going to a park or doing your hobbies. Also driving around, and hanging out with friends, but there is still many different ways to deal with boredom.
@Brock Bonschmit it is are own responsibilty to make it so were not bored its not on anyone else everyone knows what they could do to not be bored because we know what intrests us and i have many hobbies i do to not be bored like skatebording taking walks working out or even hangout with my little brothers and there is endless things to do with your time to not be bored
I define ¨boredom¨ as not having any structured activity. My opinion of boredom has changed through the years because if I do something I would get bored of doing something and then switch to doing something else.
@Sarah In my opinion you can just do something else when you're bored, but sometimes i feel like there's just some kind of fulfilment needed to not feel bored, even if you do something else, is it what they want, is it something they feel fulfilled with?
@Sarah Thats cool, but I feel like it's kind of odd to just switch activities. For me, sometimes I feel like doing everything, then just nothing at all. Maybe it's different for other people, but I always have the urge to just do something fulfilling for myself.
I agree with the article it is a good thing to be board because you get know yourself and get to know how to control yourself at challenging times like when your waiting for a appointment or in traffick and even a boaring lecture.
I define boredom as having nothing to do, just sitting around. Also the definition has not changed to me at all since I have gotten older. It is still having nothing to do to me.
"But boredom is something to experience rather than hastily swipe away." When I was growing up and would become bored, I would hassle my parents to entertain me or invite one of my friends over to entertain me as well. I used to hate boredom until I realized it was actually really good for you. Sometimes when I have had a crazy couple of days, I just wish I could go home, and do nothing. Those times when I'm bored, are the times where I do the best things. I sit there thinking to myself of the things I could do to entertain me. My creativity just takes over.
Sometimes its just nice to not have anything to do and just relax. When your bored, you have the option to do anything you want. I now know that boredom is a good thing, although I used to not think that.
Boredom is something everyone experiences even if it doesn’t happen much. I feel like boredom can be used in two ways, one, you just don’t do anything and use your boredom as an excuse to be “ lazy “ or you let your boredom carry out and let yourself explore new things to do to entertainment yourself or keep busy. Personally when I’m bored I just speak to myself in a Russian accent while making coffee.
As a child myself I have experienced and understood the idea of getting bored. Often times when this happens I try to reach out to my friends to hang out.I find the challenge is often they are very busy which limits the amount of time we can hang out. This had lead me to research and discover activities that I seem to enjoy. For example, Something I found was musical theatre. I find that this takes up a lot of my time, and it also gives me a social outlet and provides me with a different way of learning. I feel that this touches upon the author's statement of "boredom teaches us that life isn't a parade of amusements. More important , it spawns creativity and self-sufficiency." I feel as if I could relate to this on several levels. From what I stated above, to other times when I'm bored, I often find my self becoming creative thorough singing. It calms me down and provides me with the ability to think. These activities have made me a better person, and have allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and learn about talents I didn't know I had, or could do.
I feel that boredom is just an excuse not to do something you like, think about it last time you said you were bored did you have something that needed to be done? I do when chores need to be done i just sit there and complain about how bored i am and how i want to do something fun. The definition of boring is not interesting so when your sitting on the couch complaining over your boredom your really just not interested in doing something.
The article states “school,let's face it it can be dull” this is because we don't want to pay attention cause its hard or its not something you would describe as fun. So next time you complain your bored rethink your statement and handle the task at hand.
"Boredom is useful. It’s good for you." a phrase that was often delivered to me when my parents did not feel the motivation to entertain me every second of the day. It was not until I grew older and gained responsibilities that I started to accept that phrase as the truth.
Through sitting in my bedroom and racking my brain of things to do, I have come up with some of my best ideas. I have made new recipes, made up new and easier ways of doing work, and developed my imagination. While in the moment, bored is one of the worst things to be, it can lead new things that you would never expect. I now use my boredom to motivate my to try new things and keep life interesting.
boredom to me is when you don't or can't enjoy what you're doing and you just go through the motions. when i was younger I defined boredom as when you're doing nothing but I've come to learn that doing nothing isn't being bored but being rewarded in a way. My mother let me do what I wanted with my free time as long as I finished what was needed to be done. she understood that I worked hard to be able to do nothing.
I do believe boredom can lead to new ideas and ways to be more resourceful. Some of the time being bored alone doesn't cut it and you need others to be bored with. for example i had been bored with school for many years and I soon began to figure out how to pass all my classes with the least amount of work being done but still be able to pass with a B or higher.I would never have figured out how to do so if i hadn't become bored of school and try and figure out how to do less work but still pass. I am by no means someone that you could consider smart or top of the class.But my will to want to do nothing for a long period of time was greater then my boredom at the time. so I studied the syllabus.
School being fun. that's hard to say. it depends on the school and location of the school. but for many school it is true that being with friends makes it fun but making new friends can be just as fun. but with the huge diversity of kids one event can be seen as fun, scary,boring and so many other things. so to say that school is fun all depends on your point of view.
I do feel like my side job is to make my life interesting. This pushes me to try new things, to persistently expand my knowledge and to investigate opportunities that can make me grow in character. If my life was the same, repeating cycle it would be dull and seem almost worthless.
What I do in my spare time, or in the margins of any paper given to me, is draw. I consider myself a professional doodler because of the number of times I'll draw different characters and scenes. I foster my creativity by taking inspiration from from a quote, a show, or a song and try to create a person out of it. The thing about drawings is there is always room to expand ideas and to try new things. Recently, I purchased canvases and paint to have a change from my traditional drawings. The more I interact with the new medium, the more interesting it becomes.
Boredom is a constant battle for me when I can't draw. I think that the article brought up a compelling point, sayings it's not boredom that's the problem, it's how we handle it. I agree with this statement, there is always something new to experience. I feel like the majority of the people that complain that they are bored, give up too easily. They give in without trying to find something to do and I think that is a lazy excuse to do nothing. The article said it best. “Every spare moment is to be optimized, maximized, driven toward a goal.”
I do feel like my side job is to make my life interesting. This pushes me to try new things, to persistently expand my knowledge and to investigate opportunities that can make me grow in character. If my life was the same, repeating cycle it would be dull and seem almost worthless.
What I do in my spare time, or in the margins of any paper given to me, is draw. I consider myself a professional doodler because of the number of times I'll draw different characters and scenes. I foster my creativity by taking inspiration from from a quote, a show, or a song and try to create a person out of it. The thing about drawings is there is always room to expand ideas and to try new things. Recently, I purchased canvases and paint to have a change from my traditional drawings. The more I interact with the new medium, the more interesting it becomes.
Boredom is a constant battle for me when I can't draw. I think that the article brought up a compelling point, sayings it's not boredom that's the problem, it's how we handle it. I agree with this statement, there is always something new to experience. I feel like the majority of the people that complain that they are bored, give up too easily. They give in without trying to find something to do and I think that is a lazy excuse to do nothing. The article said it best. “Every spare moment is to be optimized, maximized, driven toward a goal.”
From my personal opinion I believe that boredom has both benefits and benefits and drawbacks of people around the world, our society, our community, and the environment where we live right now.
People around the world wants to lead their life as smoothly as possible by getting rid of boredom in
their particular job. Boredom can bring person whether it may be he or she unsuccessful in every sectors in their life. It can bring people to become more demotivated in their job. It happens in case of repetitive job. For example in car industry workers fixes up the seats of cars each and every moment of a car. From my perception this kind of job are very boring but not so interesting to the workers. It
Leads workers inefficiency and less competitiveness between their job which I see in my real life that
workers those who feel bored used to get low salaries and workers those who are not. Although there
are drawbacks of feeling boredom but on the other hand there are some benefits of having boredom in our day to day regular activities. While feeling boredom in one task and switch to another job which is often called flexible working practice. For example if a person feels boredom in publishing
newspapers every single day. That person whether it may be he or she can switch to another job like
doing physical exercise everyday which is good for our health fitness. Another example can be watching tv instead of doing shopping everyday.
The boredom is a moment necessary in the life, because in those minutes grow good ideas up. Especially children’s boredom is necessary to push them to create exits to feel better and get out from boredom. However, I think that the time to bore in the child should be in few spare of the week to optimize and maximize the time in the children. This opinion about boredom has changed through time because few years ago to me the boredom was just to lose time where nothing would emerge. Boredom in the job for adults is something that they can not skip because in the jobs always will request activities that you have to do. I call those moments bored in the job “extra mile” to explain that it is necessary to reach goals, therefore the result it will bring rewards. In my case, I am never bored because I use those spare to inspire me and to do something that I want to do in my free time.
Boredom is something that we can use it in many ways. If we do not know what to do, we are going to feel boring and that is the right moment when we come up with what to do for the rest of the moment while we get an occupation. Sometimes when we are bored, we are able to discover things that we never knew before and that is helpful for us because one of that things could be to draw pictures. For example, one boy called James is bored in his bedroom and he does not know what to do, he starts doing a drawing, looking at everything that belongs to the room. Because of the boredom at that moment, he realizes that he is good in drawing pictures so he decides to take that occupation for the rest of the life. That is an example that shows that boredom sometimes is good because it helps us to discover new things that we were not used to do before because when people are busy, they do not have time to think about anything else.
The article of boredom talks about many things about our day to day activates. It talks about how we should manage our time and why we get bored. Whenever i get bored at home my parents always told me to read a book, go outside and do something with your life. The article says being bored can spark out creativity, i also believe that to be true as a kid and even now. I would find something to do around the house, i would go outside, hangout with someone, or even do a puzzle and play games. Most of the time when it comes to being bored its mostly at school. The reason why is when nothing interests me i just lose track and become tired, i don't know what to do with myself at that state but play with something or sleep.
— How do you define “boredom?” Has this definition changed as you’ve gotten older? Explain.
For me, it hasn't changed much, if at all.
— What do you think about the idea that it’s your job to make your own life interesting? Can you give some examples of how you’ve done that, or at least tried?
I can't do very much to make anything interesting.
— Ms. Paul suggests that many parents believe that for their children, “every spare moment is to be optimized, maximized, driven toward a goal.” How does this support or contradict how your parents view your free time?
My parents don't care about free time as long as it's not anything bad.
— Speaking of which, how much free time do you have in an average week? What do you do with it? How much of that time would you say you feel bored?
I have the equivalent to one day of free time, half is boredom.
— Do you agree that boredom can lead to things like creativity, self-discipline and becoming more resourceful? If so, how can this happen? Give examples to support your idea.
No.
— Ms. Paul says that students expect school to be fun. What are your thoughts on that statement? Does your school “cave,” as she puts it, on this? Also, what role, if any, do you think fun can play in learning?
School sucks, except for Art and Ila.
Boredom has always been a serious problem for me. I had very bad ADD as a child and along with being an only child I lived in neighborhood with no other kids my age. Boredom was easy to find and hard to escape and looking back on it I wish that I was bored less.
Boredom has brought some good things for me. I have become a fervent reader and while less now, I would go through two good sized books in a week in middle school. I was known for being a bookworm and being a bookworm has given me a large vocabulary and the skills to ace any reading comprehension tests.
On the other hand though boredom, in a way, stole some of my childhood from me. I played video games relentlessly from the end of elementary school to around seventh grade. I would spend a disgusting amount of hours a day on my computer just so that I could keep myself entertained. While that it no longer a problem I lost some years of my life to video games when I could have done something better.
Boredom is now is not a very big problem for me. In a world with smartphones and the internet it is very easy to stay occupied. Along with home work and the several sports I manage to keep every day full and I'm glad that I can do that. I don;t think that parents should be taught to stop their kids from experiencing boredom at all costs but I do believe that boredom can have just as many negative affects as positive ones. Boredom is on of my worst enemies and I continue to do everything I can to avoid it.
Boredom is a mental status that generally occurs when you lost the interest in something that you are doing, in some of the cases this is good that happen because this helps you develop creativity and help to looking something new or discover skills that people did not know that we had. I don’t have a lot free time to be boring, but something that I make me feel bored is to have to repeat activities or to have the same routine for long time, so my technique is try to do interesting things every day, sometimes is hard because we live in a routine. According to the article I think that go to school is for most of children boring. Teacher can help them to learn and play at the same time especially their first grades of school, teacher had a responsibility to teach and open the academic life for our children and they could be immerse in a fantastic world to adventures and knowledge. Finally I believe that when we feel boring is a great opportunity to take time, stop and to give a return to what we have been doing maybe we are going in the wrong way. We are responsible for our happiness.
I agreed with the article. One significant idea in this article is that is our job to make our life interesting. When we find ourselves bored we could use boredom to accomplish some of our goals and also on self improvement for Example, like going to the gym, learn how to play an instrument or learn a new language, get into sports or any other activities we like. Is really up to us to make our life interesting. I think we should use boredom as a tool and take advantage of all the extra free time.
When I think of boredom one thing comes to mind, summer. Although summer is a decompression from school, it gets Tiring spending days on end watching Netflix, and contemplating what you are going to do tomorrow. Learning to me, has always kept me productive and “entertained”.
Time spent in the classroom, working on assignments and learning new concepts I had never known, helps the time move faster. Even the subjects I dislike, like math. Math, for me has always been an aggravating subject. But despite, it's impossible problems, it has never failed to keep me Productive. In a way it has always created “healthy boredom,”.
“Despite the lesson most adults learned growing up — boredom is for boring people — boredom is useful. It’s good for you,”Pamela states when explains how boredom can Be healthy. Boredom is always been something that creates itself, and although we might not like to admit it, we can only add to our boredom. That’s why it will always be healthy for me, to show up to a math class, rather than to sit in my room all day.
Most student would never admit it, but school has always been a way for us to prepare for the fast pace work world, that we are soon to arrive in. without the aggravating subjects, students would never know how to handle a boring work day. It's the most uninteresting subjects that keeps students on their toes ready for, what we don't know.
Boredom is something I face quite often, and as soon as it hits me I’m guilty of complaining to my parents by saying, “I’m bored.” I typically have such a full schedule that if, on some rare occasion, I don’t have homework on the weekends I seemingly feel lost and don’t know what to do with this extra time. Sometimes boredom isn’t all that bad since it allows your mind to think what it wants instead of having to take in constant information from school. Boredom can be a recharge if you use it to it’s advantages.
Ms Paul says, “Once you’ve truly settled into the anesthetizing effects of boredom, you find yourself en route to discovery. With monotony, small differences begin to emerge, between those trees, those sweaters. This is why so many useful ideas occur in the shower, when you’re held captive to a mundane activity. You let your mind wander and follow it where it goes.” I do agree with what she is saying because if you let boredom sink in and you think of it as an opportunity instead of a block then you can reach discoveries through it. Sometimes if I am in the shower and I am trying to work out a situation or think of a creative idea for a project, it will randomly hit me. I will get a great idea that will lead to an overall great project. So I do agree with Ms Paul when she says, “Once you’ve truly settled into the anesthetizing effects of boredom, you find yourself en route to discovery.”
My Opinion about boredom goes back to 1994 when I was doing an internship in Munich, Germany. Mr Stanley was the Director of Statistician program in which we were
It was in the opening session. He said : “When we come to Mathematics and Statistics, a lot of people think that they boring fields but those fields are really what make to understand the meaning in life”.
Since then boredom affects me everywhere I hold myself as hope joy of ridding freedom to the future of outstanding.
I am 24 years old. At my early age, I saw many established people around me. I remembered one of my sister in law she is an engineering teacher in Ohio. When she was a child she did not like to go to school also she did not like to do her homework but her favorite activity was fixing electronic things. Since, she did not like to do her homework that is why she had lots of extra time and she got boredom. This boredom lead her to doing things that she actually found interesting. For example, she liked electronics. So, she used to fix things around her house where she found a passion for electronics. Later on in her life, she got a letter from a college in Ohio to complete her bachelor’s degree. Now, she is a teacher at Ohio University. This demonstrates, being bored is an excuse to find and do something that is actually fun. It can make our boring times in life interesting. Studies show, boredom encourages people to think creatively and solving problems. Lastly, boredom can make our lives more interesting.
When I am getting too bored, I try to do something entertained, like make jokes with my friends. It is make me funnier or enjoyable what I want, because it is good time for me. When I was 18 years old. I used to go outside and took care of my plans and sometimes I am wrote to stories, although the story was my sweet moments and school experiences. I agree that boredom leads to creativity, because I usually do end up making things which is being creative. Currently I feel bored then I go shopping or visiting one of my favorite’s places or listing or singing my favorite song. I agree with the idea it is my own responsibility how to make my life interesting and positive in this world. On my free time, I should be able to just relax, because I do not have long free time. I am busy with my tasks. I think students will have fun while they learn. They will be motivated to learn. Boredom can teach us how can resolve problem and make some productive and creative things.
As I am a student sometime I study some boring stuff .I like being boring. Sometimes it helps me. I like to draw picture and plant trees. However most of the time I don’t have enough time to do that. When I feel bored sometime I draw picture, plant trees, take care of them. Sometimes too much bore feeling turn into frustration. In the 21st century children are playing game on mobile phone, use ipad, or electronic devices, talk with their friends for that reason they become lazy. Parents should take some necessary steps, then this problem can be solved. Parents should not give up their mobile phones if they have their sons and daughter instead of playing games in their phone, some domestic tasks can be taught in the game play. Such as cleaning your own house, working in the garden, helping to cook, so that how they can learn.
My opinion about that article “How we can deal with boredom” today the boredom theme, it does not feel like before because actually we have technology, we can do a lot things with technology, as play video game, watch documentaries, read articles online and send messages with your friends. I agree when Ms. Doyne says when “a person of feels bored, boredom is useful, is good for us”. For example I have a child, he is four year old sometimes he feels bored, and he asks me, what does he can do? He starts to think about something that he can does, he uses his knowledge for create some things activity, he starts to explain me histories about some children in his school or says Mom can you read a book for me please. In conclusion I think feel boredom can help us become more and have a good life.
I think all children have told their parents “I’m bored” but when I was a girl I didn’t tell them that because I knew they were going to assign me chores or punishments. So I spent my time playing with my friends or just thinking about my dreams. In our times, children have become accustomed to quick solutions and expect their parents to resolve their moments of boredom. The important thing is to give them tools and help them to develop an activity that entertains them, such as learning music, reading, dedicating themselves to the arts or sports. I believe that every human being will have moments of boredom but it is something necessary and natural for our body and mind to rest.
Every time I feel bored, I don’t realize after a while it’s because I don’t feel afraid of being bored. An average human is accustomed to deal with boredom every day it’s part of a routine in some boredom persons are a cause of the feel stress. A lot of them don’t have anything to do after the day of being working. What the common man do is smoke cigarettes to change the routine. Do same thing every day can be bad for your health that’s what bring boredom. In child it’s not the same they develop a habit of watching TV, this not heathy because these is not having a real relationship with a human being .I wish that my parents encourage me the habit of read that develop my skills in reading more faster and retain more information about what boys are learning in their childhood .In my case my mom wasn’t a fan of reading so lately in last years of high school I have learned about reading book and all that stuff. Most of the parents don’t have the patience to teaching something to their children because they think that the adults are made to deal with other kind of stuff like paying bills. When you are with your brain capacity in other kind of stuff like teaching to your son you can eliminate the boredom
My opinion about “How Do You Deal with Boredom?” is that we have to utilize this time to do something useful. When we use our boredom time, we can improve our knowledge and skills. Because we can use this time to investigate something, or to do things that can help us to kill the time. For example, in my case when I feel bored I like to compose songs, dream awake, make plans, think about my goals, practice dancing, draw, write poems, think about myself and what I want to be in the future, read about some curiosities that I have, and many more things. I like to take advance of this time because time is very important in life, time does not go back and we have to use every second because every second counts. In conclusion, for me, there is not boredom time in my life because I always have something to do or something to learn.
In my opinion get boredom is when you are not been engaged in an event or activity. But, when you become older thoughts change you use free time to think about somethings. For example; your goals or what do you want to do in your life. I agree with the idea that get boredom help people development their creativity and become self-sufficient, because people find the way for do something that they really like as painting, drawing and dancing. Management of boredom help you be engage with some activities and become more organized. Effects of boredom are positive, but people see it only for a few moments when they make the choice of not use technology as a distraction for boredom. I think that people are responsible of make their own life interesting, they have the option for choose the things that make they happy. For example, when you choose a major that you want to study, this part of the life is very important for everybody, in addition you can chose the kind of people around you.
My opinion about the question “How do you deal with boredom?” Is that every generation have a different perspective. For example 40 years ago being bored it was something that parents use to hate in children’s because children’s didn’t have any distractions or something to play with. Now in this century being bored is something negative or something not normal because there’s a lot of things to do. For example I personally read a book when I’m on the train on my way home. Reading keeps my mind busy and I don’t get bored. Every person deal with boredom different for example if a baby is crying and saying that is bored the parents can give the baby a phone to play videogames or to watch a baby show. This is good method to distract babies and keep them in the same place and quite. Also when you are bored you can do math problems and I guarantee you that you will increase your knowledge in math sections. Also being bored have something to do how do you manage your time because there’s 24 hours in a day and let’s say that is 8 hours to sleep so you literally have 16 hours to do whatever you want so is up you if you to take one or two hours and think that you are bored.
Boredom is a state of mind that we can make more interesting because we can be more creative. This means that we can invest the free time of learning something new. It is a good way to look for things that we are capable of doing. For example, some people have the ability to draw or write. This is a really good mood to get a better knowledge of your abilities. We must have something new to learn, we just have to keep exploring the options. There are so many things we can do in our state of boredom. Older people like to read the newspaper, spend time with their friends. In addition, young people like to play soccer in their boredom. They either like to spend time with their friends shopping or watching a movie in a theater. We always have something new to do or learn from others; otherwise, we learn more about ourselves.
Getting bored is natural . If we have nothing to do our brains create this feeling . I have learned that if I get bored , I should do something useful or do funny activities . In some cases boredom is good for many people, it helps them to realize what they should do or what they should think about it . In another cases boredom leads to creativity , like what happened to many scientists , they spent all their time in laboratories in the end they had found many things .
@ANIS3B I agree with you because boredom can lead to your brain thinking abstractly. which can cause your brain to want to escape from this feeling. Even i come up with some amazing art ideas when i get bored.
To be bored is our choice. We can do many things to stop boredom. Many times being bored is good because it is the only way to start thinking about doing something that could be good and could help us to develop our brains especially with children. We always must try to find many ways to do something that keeps us busy and this way not be bored. Children need to do productive things that help them in their emotional and physical development. As a mother I always try to give to my daughters chores at home and they know that when they finish their homework and responsibilities they always have something to do. When I was a child my mom used to tell me and my sister that there were many ways to find good things to do and it help us a lot to discover our talents capacity and abilities. After my mom taught us that we never got bored.
The article is about boredom that it is an emotional and psychological state that people express when they do not have something to do in a specific time. Boredom sometimes can be dangerous because people can get depression and suffer mental damage. This condition would happen more in adults because young children do not know about to feel bored how this article explains. I agree the phrase “every spare moment is to be optimized, maximized, and driven toward a goal.” My point of view is that we can be productive in every state in our life and it is not be treated like a problem furthermore we have to learn what we can do when boredom arrives. There are many activities that we would do for do not feel boredom such as read books, walk in the park, bake, clean the garden or go shopping, etc. It is important to understand that people have to spend time on activities that can help them in the development of their brains but above all in the children brains.
My opinion about the article “how do you deal with boredom” is that, is good that people feel boredom because they can take time to do things to improve and better our knowledge. I think that feeling boredom is good because we can take advantage of that time to practice some things that we like and also in those time we want to do in the future and the plans we want to achieve, we can also take time to reflect. For example in my case I have not been bored because I always have something to do, like reading books, going to yoga class and taking time to buy with my family. I agree that boredom leads to creativity, in a way it makes us feel bored as generally with boredom we do things that are creative, but other people simply would not do. In conclusion, when people feel boredom it is good because they can make time for themselves and learn about new things.
Boredom is the door to the imagination. People daily learn new things, in this case the boredom has a transformation every day, depending how our live run. Of course, it is a good idea that people have interesting lives, as doing new activities, knowing new people, make changes in their lives, among others. In my case in a lot occasions when I have been feeling bored, I have done things as discover new places, restaurants, bars or malls. When people have free time is not necessary to do activities or new things, because the free time can be used to think about us or our life, or simply to rest the mind. Normally I use my free time to think about my life and myself because I love knowing about myself, including my body, my mind, my feelings, and my future. I prefer to spend my free time knowing myself and not doing activities outside. Definitely, boredom can cause things as creativity, auto discipline or ingenious, because sometimes a good decision need time to become real.
My opinion about “How Do You Deal with Boredom”. I think that boredom can lead people to make creative things and improve their skills because when some people are bored, they start using that time to do things that entertain them like writing, drawing, singing, reading, etc. In my case, when I feel bored I like to use that time doing something that makes me feel relaxed like read a book, go to the gym, walk in the park, play with my cat, watch a movie or think about what I want to be in the future. In conclusion, boredom time is not even bad because it benefits some people to improve their knowledge and know themselves much better.
The modern man's boredom is not conscious. Modern man has more opportunity and amusement. They try to find fun, but they do not satisfy their boredom. Today people are trying to make their everyday life in the scenario base, that is, they make a daily plan. If they have some time to move from one job to another, they will immediately get bored and start looking for something to spend time with, for example, lovely computer or smart phones. According to scientists, emerging smartphones are just as drug addicts. With the help of smartphones, people don't notice that time is running fast. If smartphones and screens become an integral part of our lives, the real life will not be in the interest of the human being. Because we see a lot of screen, the life on the screen looks real. Which in turn leads to boredom, and as a result, people get bored with all bad habits to get out of the boredom. We can use our "boredom" not only to focus on screens, but also to overcome the "boredom" with physical pleasure, such as walking in fresh air, reading a book we love, or doing physical work we can do.
I agree that boredom can cause creativity because some people, when we are bored, can look for ways to change our creativity through reading, writing, and handicrafts or we can go for a walk to feel relaxed. Boredom tells us that we must make changes and strive to learn something new. How to explore the world around us, experience and be creative. Boredom can tell us that we need to expand our borders, get out of our usual world in search of something different, like breaking our daily routine, doing something different to never feel bored. This can push us to pursue dreams and goals that we believe were not within us, to seek and find something better.
I think firstly, boredom could be the feeling that you have when you are not doing anything. Boredom could happen when you do the same things all days, but are things that you do not like. People need to be in movement, doing things that they love. For example hobbies, as sports or arts. Children usually like these things, if they are boredom is better when you put the children in some activities and they are distracting and having fun. Also, school could be fun, when you are responsible in your duties and you have high scores and discipline, that make you feel good, and you don’t need to be worry about low scores, punishments or excuses, because with a good discipline you have time for be good in school and have tame for fun.
Boredom for me is not having anything to do. I don't get bored very often because i always have something to do like go to the gym on my free time or play video games and listen to music. I think that it is my job and other people's job to entertain me. For example a teacher could keep her students entertained by making the work fun. A student could make their work fun by earning themselves something every time they answer a question.
Boredom is when you can't do your favorite thing and your forced to do something you don't want to do, and my definition hasn't changed. I agree with the idea that you have to make your life more interesting. When i can't do the thing i love i just go outside, enjoy the fresh air. My parents view my free time as a way to learn and have fun at the same time. Everyday is free time for me unless i have homework. I mostly play video games unless it's summer or spring then i go outside and i don't feel bored much. Boredom can lead to creativity because when your bored you have more ideas cause your not concentrating on anything, for instance, if you cant play video games for a week and it's your favorite thing to do then you'll surly find something else fun in that time. School is men't to be fun but some people don't think so. I think teachers can make it more fun for people to learn.
I define boredom as not having anything you want to do. Not having anything fun or interesting. The definition has always been the same for me. As I got older, it just became more clear that boredom is real and not something I made up. I believe that we have the power to make our live more interesting. Not only by taking action but by allowing ourselves to think something is interesting. However I don't think that we have control over interesting events occurring. You could go to the park and happen to past by some people playing basketball. You didn't make them play basketball, you only walked by and watched them. I usually make things more interesting by initiating conversation with someone or go out to look for something interesting to join. My parents know the value of free time. Meaning they know the the prize for utilizing it and they know when to use it for purposes other than working. Afterschool, I have about 2 hours of free time that is available. During this time, Iam never bored because I remind myself of the things I should and could be doing. Then I go ahead a do them. I often watch TV or YouTube or go on social media. When you are bored, you want something to do. As a result you mind can create something to do, or force you to do things that you will have to do eventually. In elementary school, you expect fun, but as you grow older you expect to learn. That learning could be fun. My school teaches us in hopes that things we do and learn will be fun.
I think people should find there own ways to entertain. Entertainment is relative in my mind. Everyone has there "thing" that interest them. I think age doesn't have a major factor but a smaller one. Everyone liked different things. When the get bored these things can be used to numb them from being bored. I also feel certain activities can bore anyone or a specific age group. A kid might find a study on the local environment he loves while the person next to him has no care in the world. I really could relate to the point Paul made about kids being conditioned to the world. I feel the more conditioned one is the less bored they might get or they will just tolerate it better.
When I was younger and complained about being bored, my mother would reply with, "oh, if you're bored then I have a list of chores you could do." That would always motivate me to fix my boredom real quick. I think boredom is inevitable and we all have to deal with it at some point, some of us multiple times a day. In the article it says, "life isn't meant to be an endless parade of amusements." I 100% agree with this statement. I don't think there's one person out there who's satisfied every single second of every single day. There are times when I'm so bored I want to scream but then there are others times where I wish I was bored, because being bored opens up an opportunity to do anything. Without boredom, we wouldn't appreciate all the good moments life grants us. Not every moment is going to be memorable and I think people take the more basic relaxed memories for granted. As for solving your boredom, that's up to you and should not be left to others. Sure you can go to others for help but in the end you're in charge of your own path of amusements. As it says in the article, "boredom is something to experience..." So, the next time you're really bored, try and see what you can accomplish from it. The results could actually be quite interesting.
Kids these days don’t know what being bored feels like. They don’t go outside to play and they don’t play with other kids. Instead these days kids just see what others are doing and wish they were doing something as exciting as their peers. Technology has brought the solution to boredom, but not for the better. Kids need to be bored.
Parents these days download kid friendly movies and games on IPads so that their child doesn’t get bored, but how is this helping them. Letting kids sit in front of a screen when they are bored is only melting their brain instead of encouraging them to do something useful like clean their room. Is it fun to do chores, no, but when we get bored when start to get things done. Like standing in the shower is when most people have their best thoughts and it’s because your mind goes into boredom and when that happens it stats to get creative.
All in all being bored is not a bad thing. Being bored should be more encouraged in children because it teaches them to use their creativity and accomplish goals.
I would call boredom the resulting way of thinking when you have nothing to effectively occupy you. Really, given that I have never thought about the definition of boredom, it has never changed for me. I think that the idea that it's your job to make your life interesting is completely accurate. I spend most of my spare time reading and doing crafts. I usually have, on average, about two days of free time per week. I probably feel bored about six or four hours of this time. In my opinion, boredom can most definitely lead to creativity, self discipline, becoming more resourceful, and more. This is because , when you are bored, it is most often due to the lack of things around you to do. If you have no book to read, not many people around you, and no electronics, you start searching for something to do; this leads you to thinking about whether certain things work and experimenting to modify certain activities that could entertain yourself to best fit your situation. I think that Ms. Paul's statement about school and fun is not completely accurate. How are you supposed to teach a class that is half asleep science? I, personally, enjoy school, but others lose any interest and effort due to the lack of fun. Play and learning kind of go hand-in-hand, in my opinion. When you have a memorably fun class, the thing that you were taught, if it was incorporated properly into whatever game you played, will most likely stick in your head for longer.
While I do agree that kids must learn to entertain themselves in order to make it through life. I think the real problem is that kids aren’t exposed to boredom, but that they are harder than ever to entertain. When such a vast amount of knowledge and entertainment is readily available at our fingertips the kids who grow up with will most definitely develop higher expectations for whether something is worthy of holding their captivation or not.
Furthermore, I cannot agree that an engaging style of teaching is a bad thing certainly being able to stay focused to some boring lecture is a legitimate and useful skill to have, but realistically how many kids are going to be paying attention when their lessons make them want to doze off. The amount students retain when in engaged learning especially among younger children is a sizable difference compared to a lecture lesson. This leads to teachers having to constantly repeat things and could have a negative impact on the child’s future.
Pamela Paul brings up good points on how kids need to be conditioned to face the real world. However, I believe that compromise is necessary to ensure they are learning what they need to be successful further in life and engaged styles of learning seem the best option with sizes of classes today.
Boredom is when you can't do your favorite thing and your forced to do something you don't want to do, and my definition hasn't changed. I agree with the idea that you have to make your life more interesting. When i can't do the thing i love i just go outside, enjoy the fresh air. My parents view my free time as a way to learn and have fun at the same time. Everyday is free time for me unless i have homework. I mostly play video games unless it's summer or spring then i go outside and i don't feel bored much. Boredom can lead to creativity because when your bored you have more ideas cause your not concentrating on anything, for instance, if you cant play video games for a week and it's your favorite thing to do then you'll surly find something else fun in that time. School is men't to be fun but some people don't think so
Boredom to me is when you have nothing to do so you just find something to play with. I also think that being bored gives us opportunities to think about something we are gonna do in the future. Even tho being bored is boring i think its good for us because it gives us time to relax and think stuff over.
I do not spend much time being bored. Track, cross country, my school workload, and my job take up a significant amount of my time. I would say I get about an hour or two of free time every night right before I go to bed and am just on my phone going through social media. On the weekends I try to save my school work for Sunday so I can go out with my friends on Friday and Saturday, which I don't always have time for since I have a job now. I try the best I can to keep up with my social life.
Although I don't get bored much, there are always still times when I do get bored, just like everyone else. When I'm bored I tend to listen to music or make food. Ms. Paul suggests that school is can cause boredom, which I agree with. Not every subject is interesting for every person, for example: I hate history and I find that it bores me, but I love math.
In Wilmington, where I live, we recently had a string of beautiful days. Over the weekend, my friends and I were itching to get outside. As we drove from place to place, we were excited to see a bunch of neighbourhood kids outside, riding bikes or throwing balls- doing kid stuff. One of my friends commented, "Sometimes as a kid you just need to get so bored that you go outside." I thought about that, and totally agreed. Before I had an iPod or an iPhone, me and my friends would make up games, or film skits, or just run around outside when we were bored. I completely agree with the statement that it's on you to make life interesting. The whole point of boredom is to push you to find something, anything to do, and as a kid it led to some of my most creative ideas. Now, all I do when I'm bored is scroll on my phone, and I hate it. Even that gets unbearably boring at times, and I think it's making me forget what being bored as a kid taught me; how to make my own fun.
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@Audrey REEEaally nice
I describe Boredom, by telling people "when you have nothing to do and no one to talk to, so you just lay on your couch or bed and think about things.
I think this idea is wrong, because if you are struggling in life financially or in any way, how are you supposed to make your life fun/interesting?
My parents believe that on my free time, i should do things more productive and learn new things or go out and play a sport or something like that.
Everyday, I have an average of 4-5 hrs per day and i just sit and watch tv or eat. About half that time, I feel bored, unless there is something interesting playing on tv.
I believe it can, because sometimes when i am bored, I would go and clean my room or cook or do something to entertain myself or satisfy myself.
I think students do expect school to be fun, but there is also some things that they have to consider that school is there to help them and mentor them through their life educationally.
Boredom to me is when you have nothing to do or no one to talk to. Whenever i'm bored i try to do something that entertains me - like annoying my parents, watching a show or movie, playing video games, or even just clean up and rearrange my room. I would also go on my phone but that just ends up being really boring because all i'm doing is going back and forth to the same 3 apps. Yea, looking at the memes and funny videos are funny but it tends to gets boring doing the same thing over and over again. I mean, I do have a lot of free time during the weekends but I just usually don't do anything with it because i have no plans or no one wants to make plans. The only time I go outside the house is when i'm going somewhere with my mom or, and that is usually the grocery store, the bank, or picking up my little siblings. I do hang out with friends but its rare when I do. I agree that boredom leads to creativity, sort of, because being bored I usually do end up making things which is being creative, but other people would just do nothing. But being discipline and becoming more resourceful, well to be honest I don't think so.
@Sylvia, I 100%agree with you when I bored I tend to either just relax or call a friend and hang out with them .
I disagree with this article. I disagree with this because boredom is not a gate way to positive behavior. As a matter of fact, it can have the exact opposite. For example, in the article On the Function of Boredom by authors cShane W. Bench and Heather C. Lench from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov states," Boredom could even motivate goals that result in actual risk, such as high stakes gambling or sex with multiple partners" Boredom can have the exact opposite effect of positivity. As it can be a gate way for risk that can potentially affect your life negatively. Factors such as gambling has ruined countless lives. According to the website Debt.org published an article stating," as 23 million Americans go into debt because of gambling and the average loss is estimated to be around $55,000." This shows how many people are affected by gambling. Boredom can be an influence to this loss.
What boredom mean to me is when someone have nothing to do and they just do what ever to keep there mind on something. What i tried was play games with friends and family. I have a lot of free time most of that time I am on my phone or i sleep or i do my home work. I have about 4 hour of free time most of that time I am bored. I do believe it can lead to creativity when you are bored because you may just start to think about stuff. What i think is that school can sometime be fun depending on the situation what i think is fun when learning is learning new things.
Boredom to people can mean a lot of things but all of our definition is the same. Boredom for me means not having anything to do with your free time or not doing something that you know that will make you tried or bored. Throughout my whole life as a kid now til a teenager boredom comes and goes but it will always be their no matter what. As you get older boredom is something that you will have to deal with because you will mainly have it in school the most. The reason boredom will show up their the most is because some subject or not as fun or exciting as others. So boredom will always be something to struggle with and it will mainly come to you when you do not like something or you are tried.
I do see how being bred is a good thing, you can't expect others to entertain you. If you are bored you must become creative and reach out for something you like. Something that really caught my mind was that some people do get bored easily and don't know how to deal with it so they go on there phone. Now I find it bad because that is their only solution. I remember as a kid to entertain myself I came up with my own games. Relating boredom today, I agree people can't be bored and it is a bad thing. As an example my nephew is young and my sister doesn't allow him to use too much technology. So at first, he used to complain about being bored, then he made his own entertainment by playing with his toys, reading, or drawing.
Boredom can only be saw as something you're not interested in at all. For example, if you don't like ping pong and play all day, then you're bored. But at the end of the day it is your job to make sure you're never bored. If you keep yourself busy with interesting hobbies and activities, then you'll never be bored! It doesn't even have to be an activity, just your preference. Even if times short, no more then an hour a day of whatever interest you will keep you from boredom. Also, i do not believe boredom can lead to creativity or discipline, but rebellion and uninspired.
Boredom is in our heads and we all deal with it differently. We could go out and have fun if we really wanted to, due to social media and entertainment we are usually are entertained and when we are not we are bored.
Boredom is something we face throughout our lives and its up to us to determine whether or not we would like to be in that situation. A lot of us handle this very differently many people go out have fun, some clean and organize their room, and some just participate in a physical activity but no matter what it will only be for a short period of time. What I can say in order for us to be entertained is by just doing things keeping our mind distracted and fill it new and exciting things.
Boredom can mean something different to many people. It has changed over time, well for me as I grown up. When I was younger when didn't have nothing to play with them I would be bored because there was nothing for me to do and I couldn't find a way to entertain myself. Now, as I've grown when I'm bored is because I'm doing something that doesn't find my interest.
boredom is different for everyone something that is boring for you can be fun for someone else for example me i dont like shopping but i do like video games for someone else it could be the complete opposite they could love shopping but hate video games.
boredom is a very interesting topic because for everyone its different it more comes down to a state of mind and if you aren't enjoying something that doesn't make it boring its just not fun so boredom isn't really a thing its a state of mind that you put on yourself
To me, Boredom presented itself as the state of not being engaged or losing interest in a certain task or thing over time. The actual definition that I use for boredom has not changed for me over the years and I doubt that it will anytime soon because let's face it, boredom is just boredom. It is totally understandable and pretty obvious that at a certain point in time, it becomes my own responsibility to entertain myself and create an environment in which I am not bored. If it's little steps such as going from doing nothing to reading, watching tv, and then cooking, or a giant leap like driving to Six Flags for the day. It is I and only I who is now in charge of making sure that I am not bored. Boredom for me is a way to test out what ideas I am able to come up with on the spot, given how I tend to come home and do all my work right away, so I am given an extra challenge with how to utilize my time and turn boredom into entertainment.
With the modern American teen's very busy schedule, we should come to appreciate boredom when we are granted the chance to have it. This is way easier said than done, however. As a second semester senior, I have been told to "take it easy" and "finish off the marathon." That said, it has been very difficult for me to let go of the hectic study habits that have driven me throughout my high school career. The same concept can be applied to boredom. People don't know how to let go and let their mind be to rest since they have never been encouraged to, and feel guilty when not doing something productive.
For me, boredom includes sitting in my room for too long, browsing countless hours of social media sites. I think during this period of boredom I am in full control to change this state of mind, but the times I can surely say I am bored is those times I do not get out of bed. I am in full control over the situation, because nobody presides more power in choosing in my own life than I do. During the many school nights every week I find myself very bored due to the fact I do not leave my room. I do homework in it for many hours and find myself getting so bored I browse sites, and become even more bored. The power to rid my life of boredom lies in my own hands. Only I can change this lifestyle.
I define boredom as being surrounded by unhappy feeling because you have nothing to do. You can't make your mind do something to make it happy. Your brain is at a low to the point where is just sending you these sad signals and point out the fact that you have literally nothing to do. As I've gotten older the definition hasn't changed but growing up It has been more defined. Like I can see it. During the week I am not as bored as I am during the weekend, this is due to the reason I have school. When I do feel bored though, I use my time to catch up on homework or just overall study for my classes.
When I get bored I find something that else that is fun to do. There is so much around us that it is not very difficult to find something intriguing, whether it's a tv show or a different video game, going outside or hanging out with friends. There are tons of options that have been created just so we don't get bored. That is why when I am about to get bored I find something else to do. When we are in school if I am bored I will either day dream or I will ask to go to the bathroom and then go on a quick walk, that way it speeds up the time a little bit.
I define boredom as in having nothing to do. My definition has changed a little over years, I realize that when your bored you can discover talents you didn't know existed, or even discover something you didn't realize you could do. I personally believe that it is your job to make your life interesting. You have to be willing to try something new so that you enjoy your life. When I have free time, my parents will find a chore for me to do. If I am complaining about being bored my dad will come up with a whole list full of things he needs done and I am capable of doing, do instead of doing chores I use my boredom to keep myself occupied. During the week I am not as bored as I am during the weekend, this is due to the reason I have school. When I do feel bored though, I use my time to catch up on homework or just overall study for my classes. School should be a fun educational place. I agree that school shouldn't be fun all the time because every student learns differently, so this could be a distraction. School should be fun sometimes to reward students for good behavior, excellent test grades, etc.
@MacKenzie CreekmoreI think that thst is a fair point of view. People do learn differently and some ways of learning can be a hindrance to others' learning experiences and it may stick with them to different degrees.
The best way to deal with boredom is to focus on achieving your goals. When you are spending time honing your skills and working on yourself, you are in a state of flow and cannot get bored. That's how I feel when I am focusing on programming.
I agree I like to focus on my gym goals. I want to be able to lift more weights as I continue to progress at the gym. Programming sounds interesting.
Personally, I feel that boredom is a blessing. I cherish every ounce of boredom that may come my way, because those lazy moments tend to be very few and far between. When I do find myself bored, it feels so simple. I tend to lead my thoughts into a more creative realm, pondering cool concepts for a work of art or wondering about worldly issues. Boredom is what we make of it. I think that when people learn to take advantage of their boredom and lack of activity it may change the way they perceive things. Even feeling so lackadaisical that a person doesn't know what to do with themselves could spark an idea, or a thought, that could motivate them for the better.
@Ella I feel the same way. Boredom is time I get to myself. No one else gets to take away that special time. If you get to thinking while you experience this boredom, something great could be the outcome.
Boredom comes by often and you have a disinterest in what’s going around you. It’s true if you’re bored, you can do something to change that. So you choose if you are bored or not. Your parents want you to be the best so they will want you to utilize your time and not waste it on things that won’t get you far in life. Each week I have a couple hours between school, homework and work. If I stay home for a long period of time I get very bored and unimpressed in everything. Boredom can lead to you creating something positive for this world, or just educating yourself.
Boredom is weird for me. Sometimes I get so bored that I don't want to do anything, and it winds up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. This has become something I want to avoid. In order to curb my boredom, I create thought experiments and open discussion with the people around me. For example "If a noun is a person, place, or thing; is nothing a noun?" In most other cases I'll just play a computer game or watch youtube.
In my household boredom is something that comes very fast. That's why i avoid going home sometimes. Every Time i have time on my hands i usually watch movies or play fortnite.
For my life, boredom is an easily definable thing, just a general disinterest in what's going on around me. It happens often, and I have a variety of things that I do to handle boredom. In school, my main method of handling boredom is either by doodling on my paper that I'm taking notes on (especially in math), or by trying to get back engaged in the class discussion, although more often the former wins out. At home however, I have more options to deal with boredom, and so the things I do have more variety. Often I will go outside and either kick a soccer ball around or play with my dog, both of which are effective methods of dealing with the issue. Because of how seldom boredom has entirely external causes, I do believe that it is an individual's responsibility to make their own life interesting, and in doing so they can indeed become more creative and resourceful.
I agree, boredom is definitely a great creativity sparker and many of my best photo ideas come from being bored. In my case I get bored after doing the same thing for too long (unless it's interesting/engaging). This feeling can often lead to dread for me because I then can think of absolutely nothing to do and I think I'm wasting time or being useless. Thankfully I can usually find something to do after about 20 minutes or so and then I'm fine!
I do agree that boredom can spark creativity and resourcefulness. For example when I was younger and I got bored, my older sister and I would create different games to play or build a fort in our room out of pillows and blankets, or even use felt to sew dresses for our dolls. Now when I am bored, I do different puzzles such as Sudoku or jigsaw, or I go do something with my little sisters. I think that the increase use of technology with younger generations interferes with the creativity that comes out of boredom. When kids get bored they turn to watching a TV show or playing a video game. I think that when we unplug from technology sometimes it allows us to do/ create things for ourselves. I'm not saying that technology is bad and prohibits creativity, I'm just saying that sometimes it can take over causing us not to think for ourselves. I do think that when we are bored it is our responsibility to find something interesting to do, and not rely on other people to spark up our life.
When I feel bored, I feel uncomfortable, but I use that time to play with my cats. I use the time to build a relationship with them and it really is amazing. By now, one of my cats comes to sleep with me every night. While boredom doesn’t exactly help to improve my creativity much, it helps with other things.
I believe that overcoming and dealing on a daily basis with boredom is a natural step of maturation. After all, “boredom teaches… [how] to respond constructively, to make something happen for yourself” (Paul). Children from more recent generations, I feel, are acclimated to a “high-activity” schedule in their early years as they are always watching television, playing games, or being interacted with at someone else’s expense. As a consequence, their minds become short-attentioned in order to keep up with the constant stream of new things to think of, do, and play with.
I think that the problem, however, fixes itself. I believe this is because traditional American schools situate children into a more, for all purposes, boring routine. The subjects that are taught are, “slower, duller and decidedly two-dimensional, like a lot of worthwhile information” (Paul). Children must sit still and pay attention to a lesson. No more constant games, toys, or stories. As the years progress, these moments of boredom “calm down” and effectively mature the now-adolescent students. They think at the pace they were taught at -- that is, more slowly and accurately, and therefore make more responsible decisions. Boredom, in a sense, prepares these young people for later life by equipping them with the patience and proper pace-of-mind for success as an adult.
In my opinion, boredom is the constant lack of enthusiasm and the moments your brain is not filled with thoughts and experiences. Boredom has changed a lot for me over past years. I experience boredom commonly throughout the day, I try to talk with others or make exciting plans to keep me occupied. Sometimes i just ignore it and play on my computer or listen to music. Sometimes it doesn't really help me though, I don't have a lot of free time in my day. I go to school until 3, I have robotics and basketball practice until 6, and I usually have Algebra homework to do. I expect school to have certain fun aspects about it but were there to learn and get an education and I value that. Many schools offer fun programs and opportunities for kids. When we are bored in a classroom we are not learning as well.
The idea that it’s one’s own responsibility to make life interesting is something that really resonates with me. Unless you’re in a position where you get to make the rules, in the end, you’re going to have to conform to expections set for you by those who do. Whether this means performing a task at work in a specific way that you may not like, or learning in an environment that isn’t fully tailored to you, I believe it’s up to the individual to be flexible. This goes hand in hand with the fact that it’s up to the individual to make life interesting. One great example I can think of is the infamous Junior Research Paper at my high school. The paper itself is quite lengthy (mine was 10 pages), and the process of writing was long and arduous — it took about two months to fully complete. But while other students around me were complaining about the task and how bored they were, I was fully engaged as I had picked a topic that interested me while also relating to the prompt of the paper. In this instance, I took a task that was found to be lengthy and boring and made it fun and interesting. Thus, I had found a way to make life more interesting by working within the parameters to engage myself through my learning. I think that all students should try their best to emulate this behavior and find ways to make their life more enjoyable in conditions where it normally isn’t.
I've had to learn to be bored very quickly as I entered high school and more complicated subjects. The way I've always dealt with boredom, especially in school, is a challenge. Whether it's doing a harder problem, doing something minorly difficult and pointless to pass the time, or moving ahead in the subject, I always am released from boredom by challenges. This may be a different approach to the creativity that Ms. Paul suggests, but I think it is just as important when it comes to the productivity of boredom. When I get bored at my job, I get to challenge myself to work more efficiently or increase my stocking speed to break my own meaningless personal records. In school, I'll approach math problems with more difficult numbers, or even just find a new concept to make what I've done easier. I think this difference just comes down to the kind of person who is bored.
I think that we do have to make our own lives interesting, and it takes a lot of skill to do so. Sheer entertainment has always been of interest to human beings, but only decades ago it became our primary motive. People have evolved to look for external forms of entertainment when they feel bored or unstimulated, but this constant search actually depletes our internal entertainment, the creativity within us that make our own lives more enjoyable. Especially with new advancements in technology, people now rely solely on their devices for simple entertainment, which is a danger to us. I too have succumbed to the opportunity to play the new, popular game on my iPhone when it seems that there is nothing else to do. I spend each of my days working hard so that each night I can relax and finally watch the new episode of my favorite TV show. I frequently rely on an external source to make my life more interesting, when the best thing to do is take control over my boredom and be the source for excitement. The last time I remember making my life more interesting is when I made a toy for my dog. I found myself sitting alone with nothing to do and wanted to let my creativity flow. This mini project, while entertaining, actually made me more proud of myself. As miniscule as the activity was, the toy I created is my dog's go-to, and I feel excited everytime I see her using it. This form of simple creativity allowed me to take the reins on my life and develop my mindset for the better.
When I was younger, I was never the child that played all the sports, was in all the clubs, and felt constantly overbooked. Sure, I definitely tried out a few different activities, but when I didn't like them my parents let me quit. My parents operated under the philosophy that if I wanted to do something, I could try it out. But, if I didn't feel like doing anything at all, they wouldn't push me. A lot of the time I was bored, but I just had to find things to entertain myself (or just be with my boredom). I'm glad I had the time growing up to figure out what to do with those extra hours after school. It taught me to be in control of my time management skills and learn how to entertain myself. Now, I don't have nearly as much free time because I decided to get a job. I started to get bored throughout high school with nothing to do when I got home. So, instead of turning to endless hours of Netflix, I decided to be productive. Between school and work, most of my weekends and afternoons are all filled up, leaving me very little time to be bored. However, my job also allows me to appreciate the brief moments I have to myself to just be bored. It is a rare treasure when I get an afternoon with no work or homework. Thus, my busy lifestyle has actually encouraged me to appreciate boredom.
I always thought of boredom as a bad thing that sucks up all of my time when I am not out doing things that I am supposed to be doing. As I got older, my definition of boredom hasn't changed, but the things in my life that I consider as boring has tremendously. I think that it is valid that we should be the ones to make our own lives interesting. Not everything is going to be handed to you on a silver platter, just waiting to be grabbed at any given moment. I used to be extremely bored whenever I played chess as a child. As I found the things that I loved about chess and the certain strengths that I had, I learned to appreciate chess and started to thrive in the game. Also, I used to hate studying subjects and learning in general. But when I realized that I'm going to go to college to learn about the sciences, I instantly became in love with Biology and Chemistry, which is a completely nerdy statement, I know. After all those boring lectures and assignments that I had to do, I just couldn't take it anymore. I found something that I knew that I would enjoy about that class and I just went for it. I became a nerd overnight and would just watch lectures on end, of the subjects that I wanted to watch for my own personal benefit, and it just astounded me how my thought process changed! I think that boredom leads to one finding his or her passions and pushes oneself to look back and ask, "What do I want to do with my time, and how can I change my attitude to enjoy it?"
The idea that it's your own job to make your life interesting is a very important one in this day and age. With the endless technology many of us have available, we never have to feel bored, and we strive not to. I think it's important for us to embrace boredom for the many benefits we get from it. Boredom sparks more productivity and drive. It inspires you to pick up hobbies and become a more organized, well rounded human. The effects of boredom are primarily positive but we see them only in the few moments we make the choice not to use technology as a distraction from that boredom. I know in the times I've embraced boredom, I've been compelled to start a creative project or hobby and felt I was bettering myself as a whole.
Throughout our lives, we've been taught that it's not okay to be bored. We're made to feel unproductive and are told we're wasting our time when we don't have anything to do. In a world where technology is so omnipresent in our lives, we don't have many moments during which we allow ourselves to be bored. Whenever we don't have something to do, we turn to our devices to keep ourselves occupied. However, boredom allows for the development of resourcefulness and creativity. When you're bored, you're forced to really think, which can allow you learn about yourself and your world. You have to come up with other more creative things to do, which can do a lot of good for you. If you allow yourself to simply turn to your phone, you'll never reach that point and reap the benefits of boredom.
I agree with the idea that it's your job to make your own life interesting because that forces people to stimulate their imaginations. Depending on the situation, the amount of creativity evoked varies. For instance, if I'm doing something that I perceive as fun then I don't put much thought into it. However, if something is uninteresting to me, but either required and/or unavoidable, then it is my responsibility to allow my mind to adapt to the situation and make it more engaging for me because that will aid with my ability to be creative and make mundane tasks less dreadful. Not only does creativity remind us of our joyful youths, but it also helps people to become better problem solvers. Boredom forces us to think outside the box and is necessary, though in moderation, for people to be creative and innovative.
I feel like a lot of parents agree with the statement that "every spare moment is to be optimized, maximized, driven toward a goal" especially parents in our area. We all grow up with a lot of expectations going to GBN and our parents feel like we should always be doing something to push us forward or get us ahead of other kids. For example, from junior to senior year there really isn't any time to breathe. We all went from studying for the ACT, to taking the ACT countless times, to doing a research paper, to summer when you have to have a job or you are wasting your time, to applying to colleges, and then when you think you are finally done you still have to apply for scholarships and search the internet for anyway to get money for school and then also get another job. With so many tasks to get done parents feel like we should always be working to get another thing done. Like the weekend after finals, everybody's favorite weekend because you have no homework so your parents can't bother you about getting it done. Wrong. The second you get any free time to just sit, do nothing, and relieve some stress our parents are peeking their heads in our rooms every other minute asking when we are going to get this or that done. It's really never ending and our parents don't want us to get bored because they think that if we are getting bored we are wasting our time and falling behind everyone else. They don't see it as a way to cultivate creativity or prepare for the real world at all.
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@Paula I completely agree. A huge part of this campaign against free time has to do with the competitiveness of the world and area we grow up in. We get scared to let ourselves be bored or enjoy free time because in the back of our minds there is always someone else who is utilizing that same time to get ahead of us. We compare ourselves to others, and have learned to become ashamed of ourselves if we have free time, because we should be doing more, whether it's studying or doing homework or participating in an activity.
@Paula
If you ever have children or are in a position to influence the schedule of a child's life, would you make the same choices your parents have made, or would you build "boredom" into their lives?
@Sara
boredom is very common and boredom for some children at a young age can cause depression
I have seen my parents' views on boredom shift as I have gotten older, and have seen how the way they saw boredom for me is different from how they now see it with my 8-year-old sister. When I was younger, I was the child that would use the phrase "I'm bored" at least once a day. Oftentimes I got the common response of "go outside" or, if I was unlucky, I would be given three different chores to pick from and complete. I was made to tend to my boredom myself, whether this meant getting out a puzzle or picking up a book, or bugging my sister to get the mental stimulation I craved. Ultimately, I learned to problem solve, and stopped complaining about boredom, choosing instead to find something to do. Now, as a high school student, I relish in my few moments of free time where I can let my mind wander, because I have seen the creativity and fun that can come from boredom. For my youngest sister, however, my parents are different. Since there is an increased pressure for parents to do everything possible to maximize their children's potential, my parents always look for ways to entertain my sister. They set up art projects and get subscriptions to online learning games and buy her activity books, so that when she isn't at one of her various activities, she has something to do that will efficiently use the time. It's not their fault, it's a change in the times. Looking at trees to pass the time doesn't cut it anymore when you could be learning something new and doing more.
@Abby
Hi, Abby,
Do you think that the way your sister is being raised will have consequences--intended or otherwise? Which approach to parenting seems better?
For the most part, high school teachers do not strive to entertain. Their job is to teach, not entertain, so that is what they do. I enter school every day with the mindset that it is likely that I am not going to be entertained. I am going to receive knowledge and then I have to remember it for a test or other form of exam. This robotic cycle is my job as a student. Occasionally, students attend an assembly or workshop or even do a "fun" activity in class, which is incredibly rare. It is THESE activities that I remember, not sitting in a cold chair for 90 minute increments listening to my teacher speak. The intention of schools are to give students lifelong skills and knowledge that they will use in their futures. If schools really want students to remember what is told to them, it is absolutely necessary that activities have even the slightest bit of "fun". So, even if boredom is what is necessary for students in this day and age, I believe it is unrealistic to assume that we are all going to have "boring" jobs and futures. I have every intention on having a job that is "fun" for me, so I believe I should be in a schooling environment that is also "fun" for me.
@Maya I totally relate to everything you mentioned regarding the fact that teachers aren't here to entertain us, and we must understand that. I think it would be interesting to get the teachers' points of view once in a while, don't they have other stuff they want to talk about? Do they ever get bored of teaching the same things?
Boredom, in my own perspective, is a state of mind in which an individual's attention and concentration is elsewhere, rather than on the task at hand. When one is experiencing boredom, they often escape to another reality of thought to help occupy themselves to cope with this undesired state. The effort to fight against boredom to not be bored can lead to self discipline, resourcefulness, and creativity. An example of this can be found in class at your very own school. When your mind drifts away from the lecture your teacher is giving, you enter this state of mind which is boredom. This mental state motivates you to either listen, be resourceful, and develop the discipline to power through the lecture, or be creative/productive in the sense that you go and think/contemplate other things to occupy yourself. Boredom is more of a realization of self that you are not being attentive nor engaged to what you are currently involved in, thus you either bring yourself to embrace whatever you are doing, or you let your mind wander to embrace something else.
As a student in the 21st century, boredom goes hand in hand with focus. It's easy to combat boredom when you are good at focusing. If you find your US History class boring but you are focusing on the lecture being given, you're not really bored, because you are occupying your mind with the facts and figures you need to learn and remember. However, though this may help your US history grade, it's not increasing your creativity. On the other hand, if focus is not your strong suit, you may use your time in US history to create a new story, write a song, or draw a picture. Adults complain that we as a generation have a problem focusing, because we have trouble spending more than 5 minutes on homework without checking our social media, or we will be watching TV while playing a game on our phone, but I would argue this makes us more creative. Even though it may seem like we devote 100% of our attention to our electronics, we've grown accustomed to tuning them out, so though we pick them up the second we feel a little bit bored, we are using them as a cure for our restlessness, not our boredom, leaving our minds to work on overdrive.
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I agree for the most [part that it's your job to make your life interesting but only once you reach a certain age. When you are young, you don't necessarily have the skills or resources to entertain yourself for periods of time. I feel that that's when parents need to come in, they need to show their kids how to handle this boredom and set good examples for them so when they grow up they can begin to do things on their own. I have a lot of free time every week and I rarely feel bored. I spend that time catching up on sleep, or playing my guitar. I also feel that the more active a household is can lead to varied levels of boredom. I have a lot of siblings and a dog so therefore my house is never really quiet enough to allow for me to become bored. There is always someone to hang out with or talk to. In today's society we also have begun to resort to TV when we are bored or beginning to feel bored. I find myself turning to Netflix or another streaming platform constantly.
I do feel that society has pushed us to view boredom in a negative light. Most of us view boredom as a lack of entertainment or as a lack of stimulation. In reality, I do believe that creativity, self-discipline and the ability to become more resourceful will come about due to this lack of entertainment or boredom. Sometimes when I'm bored I do find myself getting frustrated at the fact that I have nothing to do and start to feel like there is something that I must be doing that I currently am not. I find myself thinking about random and different things. But, when I take a step back from the situation and look at all of the times I have been bored, those are when my greatest moments of creativity and ideas begin to grow and flourish. Boredom is like a type of freedom where the mind is able to run free and this is how new creative ideas come about.
I agree with the idea the it is your own responsibility to make your life interesting. I choose to do this by pursuing experiences (like joining the speech team, going hiking in Colorado, and volunteering). Even so, the way that the adults in my life have socialized me was to make it clear that into was extremely important for my life to ALWAYS be interesting. So, when I do have down time (which rarely happens), and I have the potential to be bored, I feel extremely anxious. When I am not active or ‘bored’ I feel uncomfortable- like I am missing out on an experience or am not doing something that I should be doing this mentality, I believe, is one reason why so many teenagers and young adults suffer from
anxiety issues and focus issues. When we internalize the concept that we always have to be interesting, we are threatened by boredom and are unable to attain the positive characteristics, like creativity, that being bored offers.
To me, boredom is scary. Boredom means that you have completed every option and have done your work, but now what? Boredom is the feeling of the unknown, which personally leads me to have anxiety and doubts. To accept boredom is synonymous to accepted your sense of self identity. Although boredom can cause creativity, it can also simply cause you to be okay with not being constantly stimulated by outside sources. Boredom is made by the beholder, and if you allow yourself to get into that state of mind, you may find out things about yourself that you did not know before. The silence of the unknown is scary, yet so rewarding.
I feel like the world I've grown up in is something that has viewed boredom as a negative. My schedule is completely full between three sports, six clubs, a handful of leadership roles, and not to mention, homework and life itself. I would love the opportunity to be bored, but my days are compiled of endless activities and now I wonder, is it simply this way to avoid boredom? Yes, these experiences are valuable and have helped me maximize my high school experiences, but is it worth it to lose the chance to decompress and simply reflect? College is at my fingertips and I have never experienced going home after school so I don't know how to sit with boredom; I don't know how to go home and do nothing and that's scary.
@Lauren
Hi, Lauren,
Do you think that once you head to college you'll build boredom into your daily schedule?
I love being bored because that's the time when you come up with the most ridiculous ideas that sometimes lead to becoming a big part of life. My boredom forces me to read or just think about whatever comes into my head. ruminating over one's own thoughts is an essential part of life. If you can't face what you're thinking, daily life becomes a challenge. Boredom leads a person into traversing down a rabbit hole of thoughts, which is not a bad thing at all.
I believe that it is your job to make your life interesting because, like the author said, as you get older you will most likely have a boring job so you need to figure out how to make the best out of it. In the article, the author mentioned that parents struggle with entertaining their kid for a long period of time like a car ride. My parents never let us watch movies or play video games on car rides and every summer we take a 10 hour car ride to Minnesota. Some parents may panic at this but I really think these car rides with no technology have helped in more way my parents thought it would. We played the license plate game, read books, or listened to music and I never got bored. Now on car rides I often just like to listen to music and watch outside the window because I know I'm going somewhere exciting. I learned from this experience to sit with my thoughts and not focus on the hours of sitting in a small space next to my 90 pound dog. Similarly on airplane rides I just like to look outside or read a book. During a regular week I would never be able to read a book for fun. I am glad my parents made me embrace my boredom as such a young age because now I don't struggle with making my life as interesting, I can really appreciate the small things.
I disagree with Ms. Paul. Most, if not all students would RATHER have school be fun. However, few actually expect to have a blast during school. School isn't thought of as super entertaining and most students generally concede to this and realize that not everything in life has to be fun. Nevertheless, some schools do a good job of making classes interactive where students don't have to sit through a long, boring lecture. This is much appreciated here at GBN. This gets students more engaged in the material and actually helps foster learning, which is obviously the goal.
I agree that boredom can lead to things like creativity, self-discipline and becoming more resourceful because typically, when we're bored, it's because we don't have something to do except to sit with our own thoughts, which can make it even harder to sit still. Sitting with our own thoughts allows us to discover what interests us because we are thinking and often filling in our moments of boredom with things that we actually want to pay attention to and that actually interest us. It's important to be able to be bored because it teaches us to be patient and that being bored isn't necessarily a bad thing, but rather a learning experience, where we are able to learn more about ourselves and what we're truly passionate about. On the other hand, I am not someone who has a lot of free time during my week, probably about 2 hours maximum each week day which sounds like a lot, but I will always prefer more. I use my free time to do the things I truly love like getting a run in, listening/ playing music, and hanging out with my friends, family, and lil pup. I would say that the only times I feel truly bored during my free time is when I am not able to share that time with anybody else. I get anxious sitting with my blabbering brain sometimes, and not being able to communicate or share time and space with someone else makes me feel lonely which I don't always enjoy, therefore, I would say I am bored in these moments when I have free time but nobody to spend it with.
@Carly Harris
Just curious, do you listen to music or podcasts when you run, or do you use some of this time to "be bored" and let your mind wander?
Well, first off, I want to congratulate anybody who made it to my comments without getting bored! In all seriousness, we have been socialized to think that boredom is bad. My brother constantly walks around complaining that he is bored. He is upset when he is bored. I enjoy boredom, it's a break from the chaos that can be high school and life. When I am bored, I try to avoid my phone and go an explore. Recently, I have taken up cooking, which I have found to be very relaxing. I also believe that we are expected to do so much in life that boredom is bad. This article made me question whether we should blame boredom on parents or teachers. People think to escape boredom means going on a piece of technology but I believe this only makes the problems worse. I hope everybody would go an explore something that is interesting and unique. Try freelance news photography or even lawn mowing, just don't complain about being bored!
@Danny
Why do you think parents and teachers are so eager to fill the time of their children and students--particularly if THEY mostly grew up bored and (at least in theory) appreciate its benefits?
I agree that boredom can lead to things like creativity, self-discipline, and becoming more resourceful. Examples of this are when I find myself with nothing to do. Personally, I feel uncomfortable when I am not doing anything; my brain always needs to be stimulating. For me, boredom is that moment you feel when you have nothing to do to pass the time, or satisfy yourself. Whenever I find myself in states of boredom, I always ask myself questions in order to stimulate any cognitive thought. These questions usually start out broad such as, "how was the universe created?" Eventually, these broad questions spiral into smaller ones such as "does religion actually support science's claims?", or "is the world just a free lunch?" Through these questions, I end up learning more than I could have thought of. In instances before, boredom helped me to discover Alan Guth's theory of "a free lunch universe" and the philosophy and basis of religions such as Christianity that led me to "rediscovering" Catholicism, (before, I wasn't too religious) protestantism and even Billy Graham. I never thought I would be so interested in philosophy and theology, especially considering that most of kids my age aren't too fond of the topics. Boredom however, completely changed my life in a way. These times of deep thought led me to become a more thoughtful person, because I feel that my research trying to answer my questions developed my character in a positive influence.
I believe that boredom means something different to each and every person. Not every individual gets excited to do certain things however it is necessary that one must be exposed to different types of activities to learn how they engage in different environments. I am not a person that likes to be bored. I make sure that I have plans and things scheduled every second of the day. When I find myself just sitting around I don't believe that I am using my time to the greatest advantage. When individuals complain that they are bored and that there is simply nothing to do I strongly disagree. I believe that there are so much around us that we are not aware of. When I began putting work, homework, and everything else into my schedule I lost my a lot of my free time. I learned that boredom is actually sometimes a gift and is taken for granted. It is important for individuals to relax and let go somethings. Having every second of your day filled with something can be very exhausting. Boredom is a misconception that many people don't understand around us. Filling up your schedule with no free time maybe someone's way of life. But in my opinion, I enjoy being busy but also taking time to relax and enjoy my life.
@Megan
I agree with you that, "boredom is actually sometimes a gift and is taken for granted." What types of mind wanderings do you experience when you are bored? Have you ever had something really great happen during a period of boredom?
I believe that students dont expexct school to be fun because they know it is boring. Maybe it depends on your age but once the teachers start teaching leason plans is when they loose the intrest of the students. I think that if the students had fun while they learned that they would be far more interested and retained a lot more.
@Dylan
What types activities do you think would be less boring or more engaging?
I define boredom as not keeping your brain active or not being productive enough to keep yourself satisfied. As I've gotten older and I think that as humans get older we find more things that keep us satisfied with our productiveness. I agree with the idea that it's your job to keep your own life interesting. I believe that you shouldn't rely only on one thing to keep you from being bored. If that one thing isn't available then it will be more difficult to keep yourself entertained. School is something different though. The school can't really do much to keep your boredom at bay. I think it's more about how interested you are in learning or in a certain subject to say if you're bored or not in school. You could love writing and reading stories but absolutely despise doing math or science. Your interest in certain topics and problems will have a very large impact on whether you find school to be boring or not. Schools can be fun although if its done wrong it won't be efficient. A class can be fun when all you do is talk to friends and don't learn much. It's at points like that where fun takes away from productivity that school or a class turns into a social gathering and not a learning environment.
@Russell
You note in your blog that "You could love writing and reading stories but absolutely despise doing math or science." In making this observation you seem to suggest that boredom is an inevitable part of the school experience. Would you agree? Do you think that being bored at school--ever, always, sometimes--is okay?
Boredom to me is the state of which you can’t find anything to do in your free time. I used to think of boredom as the thing you feel when you don’t want to participate in an assigned activity. I think that it shouldn’t just be your job to make your life interesting. I do feel it is important to follow what you want to do in your life and therefore it becomes interesting because of who you meet and who you surround yourself with. My parents usually let me choose what I want to do since they have trust that I won’t do anything wrong. I would say it contradicts this viewpoint because I usually don’t have a driven goal at every time in my life, I’m not always driven by my parents to use my free time to its fullest potential. I would say depending on the week I would get about 30-50 hours of free time to do whatever I wanted, but I would spend about ⅕ of the time bored. I would agree that boredom leads to creativity. The state of being bored is when you are thinking about what you’re going to do later and planning how to spend your time effectively and creatively. I think that most students expect schools to be fun, but the more successful students, turn the boredom that comes with school into an environment which they can enjoy even when most students are bored. I don’t think my school “cave” in on making school fun and instead. Fun in learning can make you process more in school because you’re more likely to remember good times than bad.
I am often times not bored... I am always running around doing something. I enjoy spending time relaxing and I recently I have come to appreciate that time more and more as I have grown up over the years. I used to not have a job and I would have a lot more freedom but now that I work I dont have all that freedom. That way I have come to appreciate it.
I believe that it is my job to make my own life interesting because it is my life and no one else has full control over it. Other people (ie. teachers and parents) may have some say over what I do with my life, I am the one with the final decision. I believe that it is on me to reach out and find things to keep me interested and engaged. For example, sitting through a long day at school can be rough, especially because my school has block schedule. We have four 90 minute periods one day and a second set of 90 minute periods the next. Because the blocks are so long, it is often hard to stay attentive the entire time. To prevent dozing off, I try to take bathroom breaks during class just to regroup and keep my energy focused. The breaks consist of getting a drink, walking around, and/or simply getting my mind off of schoolwork for a few minutes. When I come back into class I am able to refocus and keep my thoughts on track and organized. This is not the perfect solution to all problems with boredom because there are moments in life where it is inevitable and one is simply unable to find any form of entertainment. Therefore, dealing with boredom is a case by case situation; a solution that works for one person may not be what's best for another. This means that it is each individual's responsibility to deal with their own boredom and find what works best for them or keeps them most entertained.
When I was younger, the term "boredom" rarely came out of my life. I was an energetic little kid with an incredibly creative mind, and could easily occupy myself with totally random things for long periods of time. If I had friends with me, that boredom really ceased to exist. If I ever blurted out "I'm bored" as a kid, it was probably because I was being dragged along to an activity or event that I didn't want to be a part of. However, as I have gotten older, I've noticed that I have been bored a lot more often. Mainly, I tend to associate my hunger with being bored and I raid the fridge and pantry, which makes my mom crazy. I have become much more introverted, and tend to hang out with the same few people every day.
@Alison I agree that as we get older we become more bored. I think this is becasue we have a less acive imagination and don't "play" like we used to. When I was younger, I would be entertained for hours just playing my basement alone. However, as we've gotten older, the boredum increases and I feel as if in this day and age we fill this boredum with the use of our phones, TV. and electronics which is far much worse for use then actually "playing".
To me boredom is only up to one person, you. You can sit around all day and complain about how bored you are or you can do something about it. There are so many things out in the world that you have never done before you just need to go out there and explore. It's not possible for a human to be bored unless they choose to be bored.
@Caroline I agree, I think it is up to us to keep ourselves entertained
I think that it is your job to keep yourself entertained. As the article said, the purpose of being bored is to learn how to keep yourself entertained, to increase your patience. With such a wide range of activities available to any given individual nowadays, there isn't, or shouldn't, be any difficulty keeping yourself entertained. YouTube, video games, books, your imagination, all of these can accomplish that goal. Nobody else should be responsible for your entertainment. You have the ability, and thus it is your responsibility.
To me, boredom has always meant not being engaged in an activity or event. The specification or situations of this, however, have changed over the years. For example, when I was six and I complained about being "bored" my mom would make me do a puzzle, or work or school related games. Although they weren't always the most fun, I knew that if I mentioned I was bored, my mom would give me something to do. As I've gotten older, this sort of control has vanished quite a bit. Now if I tell my mom I'm bored (which I rarely do), she'll either roll her eyes or give me a task so unbearable that next time I would solve my boredom alone. She believes that now that I'm older, there are certain aspects of life that I'm going to have to get used to. Such as entertaining myself, or allowing myself to be bored when there's nothing to do.
Do I like being bored? No. Cleary I find myself being bored when I am not doing anything so to avoid that at all costs I try to distract myself by being with friends, going on my phone, etc. But even then sometimes I find myself bored and those are the times I realize maybe being bored is good. I find my mind drifting into random places and coming up with ideas.
@Emily After you spend time on your phone (and find yourself bored again) what kind of things do you do to entertain yourself? Do you think that it is an issue that you have a cellphone with unlimited capabilities and still can be bored?
Boredom to me is having freetime that I don't know what to do with. Most of the time when I'm bored I'm sitting on my couch pondering what to do. Over time I think this definition has changed because I don't remember being very bored when I was little. I feel like I always had something to do whether it was going outside to play with the neighbor kids or doing something with my parents. Now that those things don't really interest me anymore I've found myself becoming bored more easily and I usually just resort to my phone during times of boredom.
I feel like when I was growing up my time was always full and I never had time to be bored. When I was younger and I was bored I was shuffled outside to play or plans with friends would be made for me. I think my parents did this on purpose to make sure I was occupied and had things to entertain me. As I've gotten older, being bored and having nothing to do is sometimes the best part of my day. I love just relaxing and not having anything to do. I think being bored is not something people should be something people try hard to avoid. I think it's something that people should embrace as time to themselves and time to rejuvenate.
I think what Mz. Paul says about students expecting school to be fun is somewhat true because it's where you go and find out which subjects or events you like learning about. At my school we have a lot of teachers that are good, and many that are boring. I feel that the different teachers, especially those that make the class enjoyable, definitely make school more appealing rather than just boring.
I am confident that my school does not strive to be fun. At times, all school assemblies and musical concerts are hosted, but what kind of school would we be without these things? The entertainment factor of these events is dwindled by enforcing rules upon students: no phones, sit quietly, stay together, etc. Having freedom and choice would allow for students to explore their creativity and have fun, rather than be forced into an event that they do not care about. Decision inspires creativity and would aid in the solution to the boredom that the article speaks of.
I think boredom is the lack of a certain sense of creativity and awe of the world. When we are bored we overlook the spectacular array of opportunities which have been laid down at our feet. There is always more to do, something new to learn or a new thing to try. We live in an ever-changing world it is ridiculous that often we feel as though there is nothing to do. Part of this is because we overlook options that don't seem "fun" or "exhilarating" to us but that doesn't mean they won't be worthwhile. Boredom seems to be a lack of motivation more than anything else. As humans we have a power to create marvelous things and when we complain about being bored we're just too lazy to get up and go do them. The next time you find yourself in this boring space try to connect to your own creativity and allow it to lead you where it sees best fit. Don't allow boredom to contain yourself because there is so much you could be doing. Go.
Students learn better when they are engaged and interested. Although it may not specifically be the teachers job to entertain the students, they will not be able to thoroughly teach unless they do so. Although feeling some degree of bordum in school is normal and expected, its not the most beneficial. When teachers get creative in their lessons plans and the students begin to engage, interact, become interested, and have fun, that's when the real learning begins.
I think you should make sure your own life isn't boring. It is your responsibility to keep your self from not getting bored, throughout life you can not have someone to entertain you 24/7. Although being bored for a long period of time sucks, sometimes it is good to be bored. Our brain needs time to relax and have nothing to do. It is normal to get bored. As you get older, I feel like you get less bored because you are busier and when you get bored it is kind of a relief. It is your responsibility to make sure you are busy enough and can balance free time and working time. I think school can be boring and that sucks because when people are bored they just don't care, when school is interesting people end up listening and learning a lot more.
The short answer, I dont. I try to avoid boredom at all costs by constantly using my phone, gaming, talking to friends, etc. The only time I used to allow myself to be bored was going to sleep, laying in bed waiting. But over my years of learning how to avoid boredom, I learned that if I use my phone long enough, and make myself tired enough, I can fall asleep immediately. I know this is a problem because I think best when I am bored, but I can't. Sorry to myself I guess.
@Connor
Hi, @Connor,
I wonder what sorts of ideas you have about how to address the problem of not being bored or not allowing yourself to be bored. Do you think that this is a problem that only you can tackle, or would you like mentors, teachers, parents, etc. to provide suggestions or create situations that allow you to be bored.
What is Boredom? to me the word boredom means people have a lot free time in their lives Because they don't know what to do with it. Example when I'm bored I will just pay on my phone to make the time go faster. Boredom is something that can be experienced rather than just ignoring it, but boredom is also something that is useful for some people because they can do a lot of things with it like driving toward a goal that they have in mind. Another example is that most people can use their boredom for activities that they do.
@Alex true, I know what you mean.
Boredom to me, is the time when your brain isn't being super occupied with something fun or that works your brain. You have practically nothing to do but sit and think about the fun things you could be doing instead. I feel I take boredom for granted. I dread being bored and usually just complain when I could be planning something fun for the days ahead of me. Usually to occupy myself, I will go onto a computer or phone and talk to someone or play a game. This gets even more boring after a certain amount of time, so instead I read a poetry book or take some photos.
I agree with making your life interesting by doing it yourself. In my opinion, it is not up to someone else to entertain you. If you are bored, you can find something to do. I also agree with the statement that if you tell your parents you are bored, it makes them feel like they have failed. That puts a lot of stress on them. For example, have you ever seen a parent get so stressed out when they cannot seem to make their baby happy? Have you ever been in a public place and heard a baby cry for hours? Imagine being the parent of that child. Sounds stressful, right? The point I am trying to make is instead of waiting for someone or something to entertain you, go out and embrace your imagination. Learn something new. Being bored is just something you will have to deal with for the rest of your life.
To me boredom is the lack of enthusiasm. Many kids in this generation always state to be bored. For instance, almost all kids state school as a dreadful and boring place, but its not suppose to be fun. At school you're suppose to be learning.
As people grow older, life gets more boring. To me boredom is very significant, and all people should experience boredom. When I was younger I used to play with my toys, as I grew older I matured and now I play on my phone all the time. Playing on your phone can be boring, yet very time consuming. If people payed more attention to the world, then they would find something to do. Life is short, you should not spend it on your couch doing nothing.
I think boredom is when you have so many choices of things to do but don´t realize that you can do them.
Boredom to me hasn't changed much since I was around 6-9, it still means I have nothing to do, or I'm burnt out with my current art piece or where I'm at in a certain game. It's that thing that makes nothing interesting, but pushes me to actually look for something interesting. It can keep me in bed or I can push past it and find something fun to do. I always try to work on something else, like sketching my dogs or another animal, writing stuff, or watching random Vine compilations/etc. My mother doesn't mind how I spend my free time, she gets that I have my own little issues, and can't always socialize or find things to do out of my room(unlike some other family members). I always try to spend after school and weekends doing things I find fun, to avoid getting bored, but sometimes I just feel like doing nothing, so I'll sit around, and mayber nap. I'm sure boredom can help you become more resourceful, and be more creative, it helps me figure out fun things to do, and it probably helps others. As I stated earlier, when I'm bored, I try to find new things to do, and I'll see about hanging out with my friends, for me it helps as well, my friends are the types of people I like being around, so I don't get burnt-out around them. I think my school tries to bring in fun things to do, but it also gets set on each individual class, we can choose to help out by throwing holiday themed gags such as dances or games, and our student council helps a lot, with the same things, too.
I feel that boredom is the time where you have nothing to do. Bored and boredom are two different concepts. When you are bored you can do stuff such as going for a walk, or watching TV, or even playing a board game. But being in a state of boredom is completely different. When you are experiencing boredom you have truly nothing to do. On my free time I usually just sit on the couch and watch TV. On free time you should be able to just relax. After a long day of school, I like to just come home and have the feeling of relaxation for at least a couple of minutes. During the 168 hours in a week, I feel as 22 hours of that are my free time. Let's say that 2 hours a day on thee week days are my free time, and 6 hours a day on the weekend. I think that if students have fun while they learn, they will be motivated to want to learn. If you are writing a story and you have to write a humorous story, your going to want to write that more, because you have more creativity. Whereas if you have to write an informative piece about why people should exercise your going to want to do the creative one. Sometimes it is your job to entertain yourself, but sometimes other people should. When you are at school the teachers should entertain you. When your at home you should entertain yourself. It all depends on the environment you are in
Well boredom is something that everybody experiences. For example, when people ask what are you doing and they say nothing. Well you are always doing something even if that thing is just relaxing. Also, for me, when I'm bored that is when my mind wanders the most. I will think of a situation that's going on in my life or what might be coming up for the future. I feel that boredom can be good for you. It lets you have time to think for yourself and can help you realize what's happening around you. So I think that whatever it is, you should always have some time to just be bored and have time to relax for yourself.
@Gabriel B.
What is your definition of boredom? Is it just the absence of a planned activity? Do you consider relaxing boring in and of itself? I only ask because I feel that boredom and personal time are two distinct things, and that they are not mutually inclusive. Being alone can be boring, sure, but I think it's also necessary for a person's wellbeing. Boredom is beneficial, but I think actively avoiding boredom isn't the same thing as trying not to be by yourself.
Boredom has definitely changed for me as I got older. When I was younger I was bored because I couldn't find that special barbie. Now I'm bored because my phones dead and I can't fine my charger, or I don't have service/Wifi. Other times I'm bored because my friends can't hangout. When us teenagers were younger we didn't have to worry about things like this. Now teenagers want their parents to make every situation not boring.
How do I deal with boredom.I deal with boredom by being creative ,trying something ,or playing outside. when people get bored that is a great time to do something that you enjoy.You could always look at being bored as an opportunity to read another book ,paint another picture,make new friends,try a new recipes.
@Alexiz Markby I really like this perspective! Usually, people think of boredom as the absence of things to do. However you claim that it's the complete opposite, that boredom is not the lack of things to do but rather it is bursting with opportunity. This really flips the script and brings boredom into a much more positive light.
What is boredom? I feel that boredom is when you take the time recognize you literally have nothing to do. I mean what else would you do if you’re bored. You sure wouldn’t go ice-skating or have fun at a water park if you were bored. I think that boredom takes up the time where we don’t have anything to do, so that we have the right amount of time to do the fun things that we actually want to do. We don’t have too much time and don’t have too little time. This definition has been evolved from other things, because of the ways I thought of it when I was younger. I’m not usually bored, but when I am I use the time to reflect, and see what I can do when I have time to do something fun. Places where, to be honest, I can be bored in school. But I don’t really see school as a place where it’s meant to be fun, but sometimes it can be. School is a place where you learn, meaning that you need a space of concentration. So when you things that are “fun” it kind of defeats the purpose of it. But I wouldn’t complain if we did something fun because it who would!
To me, boredom usually means that I feel unmotivated to do something, as opposed to the general meaning of a "lack of interest." After reading the story, I do agree that it is my job to entertain myself sometimes. Life does not always have what I need to keep myself engaged. What one finds boring can be what someone else finds entertaining, so sometimes, it is good to find those entertaining aspects of otherwise boring things.
I do think my parents believe that any spare moment should be done towards a goal. Many times, when I feel unmotivated or, rather, "bored," my parents would urge me to study or practice my instrument (probably all for college).
I have not yet measured how much free time I have because 1) it varies based on my schedule and 2) free time should be time deliberately left over, not time that just appears. I usually use that time to do something relaxing—it relieves stress and provides some time to calm down.
Sometimes, boredom can be healthy. It's sometimes a lesson that we need to find the interesting out of the uninteresting, a morale to live by in the future.
@Isabel Li I agree with your last statement. That was so inspiring. If we cannot learn to deal with boredom now, then how would we be able to do it in the future which seems harder to do?
@Isabel Li I think I'm here with you when you say boredom usually goes with being or feeling unmotivated. Whenever I'm going through something, like a spur of anxiety or a wave of sadness, I feel extremely unmotivated when it comes to art, and I just get discouraged from doing anything.
Saying it's a lesson to find the interesting in the uninteresting is a nice way to think of it, and can hopefully help people out who have no idea to go about getting over boredom!
Boredom to me is when you have a lot of free time that you don’t know what to do with. I believe it’s inportant that everyone experiences boredom and learns how to deal with it because as you get older, you get filled with so much work that you actually long to have some free time to just do nothing. Throughout the school year I’m usually never bored. I’m at a very excelling school, Masterman, which means I almost always have some type of work to do. Throughout the week I am so, so stressed and now that I’m older I wish I could be bored again because there’s just so much I want to do that I don’t have time for.
@Kristina Kitsul
I agree when you are young and bored you are just bored. When you are older and bored it is like an opportunity to do something or try something new.
The most common thing that annoys kids: boredom. I define boredom as being lazy and not feeling to do anything or if there is nothing to do. This definition has been the same to me ever since I have experienced this. I have been bored very rarely though, because I and my family is always doing something like going out, and I have my own extracurricular activities. Or I'm playing video games.
I think that the idea that it's my job to make my life interesting is true. If you only do a couple of things every day and is not open to any other ideas always results in boredom. When I'm feeling bored, I record a video of playing video games and edit it out. Then I upload it on Youtube. Or I practice my guitar or bass.
I view spare time as a time to relax or do something you like.
My parents think the same thing about spare time. Sometimes they say, don't waste time and do something that will benefit you. Mostly, I'm always doing something like that.
I have an average 12 hrs spare time each week. Each weekday goes this way: Wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, come home and eat dinner, then do homework, finally go to sleep. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are different because I have no set schedule. But I only get to have 3 hours of playing games or whatever I want each day, and somedays, I don't have any time. Out of the whole week, I would only feel bored 1% of the time.
I don't like that school is not fun, but it's like that. You are supposed to learn however way they teach it.
@Ayush Pandejee When i am bored I play video gmes such as fortnite or rocket league. There are lots of things to do when you are bored.
Boredom is an essential part of growing up, and of life in general. Without boredom, you can never reflect, learn patience, or self-help. I agree with the statement that boredom can lead to creativity, self-discipline, and becoming more resourceful. When your bored, you can clean your room, do homework, cook/bake, read, etc. If I say "I'm bored", then most adults will say deal with it. In my opinion, adults should be more positive about boredom because boredom will most likely strike inspiration. Me personally, whenever I'm bored, I either clean or bake. In my case, boredom causes productivity. Baking is one of my hobbies, so when I am bored, I bake. If I'm never bored, my room would never be clean. So thankfully, I'm bored quite often. Boredom is a good thing, and although it seems intolerable, it is essential to living a full and balanced life.
@Lily Sklaver
I agree! Boredom gives us time to discover what we enjoy and spend our free time doing that! Without relaxation time we would be going 24/7 and never be able to discover an activity we truly feel passionate about. We can't always have an exact plan for our lives, we have to go with the flow a bit.
I don’t think that boredom has a definition because it is self-destroying. My hypothetical definition of boredom would be the absence of doing anything, but of course you have to be doing something, even if that something is doing nothing. Therefore, true boredom is impossible to achieve and is purely theoretical. Thus, there is no way to give kids time to be bored. I believe that what the article really means is that we should give kids more time to relax and think, and on this I do agree. I think that kids should have time to think and be creative because the “adult world” doesn’t seem to have much of that kind of just free time. Unfortunately, my free time between my time playing school, chess, soccer, Hebrew school, chores, eating, and sleeping adds up to a mere few hours a week. I think that the anxiety levels and overall health of children would improve if they had more time to just think and relax, and slightly less homework. An idea that might work for this would be 15 minutes of mandatory “boredom” every day in school. This would give kids something to look forward to as well as a time to calm down and think more deeply about things they may have skimmed over otherwise.
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@Samuel Hamilton
I definitely agree with what you are saying about boredom vs relaxation. I think that’s what the article was trying to get are was the idea of not being externally stimulated, which forces internal stimulation. This is not the same as boredom because boredom involve so a lack of both internal AND external stimulation, which really doesn’t promote much of anything... especially creativity.
As I turned into a teenager, and as technology advances, boredom definitely changed for me. When I am bored, I am usually just playing on my phone for a while. Now, when I was younger, I could play with my barbies and make up stories, or play "family" with my sisters. Basically, I could make the most out of a blank space of area, whereas now I expect things to be laid out for me, and there is no creativity involved. Sure, boredom does lead to creativity and self sufficiency, but it just isn't the same with technology.
My parents do not believe that children should have their spare time used to be optimized, maximized, and driven toward a goal. Instead, my parents think I should have my own time to relax, as long as I get my homework done, and I am not spending every second of my free time doing nothing.
When kids say they are bored, they are just trying to get their parents to make the situation fun, rather than thinking of ways to benefit themselves. Over the years, boredom definitely has changed, and kids like me should be able to fix that ourselves, without the use of an adult or technology.
@Sienna Shelton I am/was the same way. Now I'm bored all the time cause I'm not into barbies or anything like that. Now I always want my parents to make the situation not boring.
@Sienna Shelton that’s how I felt when I was younger, I would always play with my Mario plushes with my brothers whenever I was bored but now, things are relatively different for me. In the past, whatever I wanted to be, my parents would tell me to set up these future goals. However, today I really have to plan goals in the future since I’m almost in high school. But hey we don’t always depend on technology. It has influenced all of society and our generation that we just get addicted to technology. So yeah, technology is pretty useful because it gives us more information on different educational topics.
And about the time you said about you used to play with Barbie dolls but not anymore, you know sometimes we often forget about our past and today people think it’s not remarkable or special playing with toys. All I can say is always pursue your dreams and don’t let yourself down. Your past is your past. The present is the present.
In my life, boredom is where you have nothing to occupy yourself. The idea making my own life more interesting seems pretty feasible, easier said than done. I tied to attempt multiple seeming easy tasks but in the end I felt like it was too complicated, and led to a boredom crash, which is where you just sit on the couch and wait for something to happen. In the end you're waiting for your parents to do something with you, in the end putting others in charge of occupying you. During the weekday, ive a bout a hour and a half or so of free time. Usually in that free time when im not playing my instruments, i am usually on my computer or phone, waiting for something to pop into my head, as i am scrolling through endless youtube videos trying to find something remotely interesting. That is when im bored. I do agree that boredom can spark creativity. I see this when i go fishing. While im waiting for a bite on the line, i find my mine wandering and thinking things that i can do that i would have never thought before. Just a quick note to add, babies are becoming less bored now because of the internet. I see my little sister watching, to say the least, odd videos on youtube and seems to be so entranced she doesn't even respond when you speak to her. When you go and take her device away she throws a mega fit and you end up with a creature that doesn't know what to do because it doesn't have something to occupy itself, and it can't because it's only occupation method is its device.
Personally, I see boredom as a good thing. Most of the time I am at sports, doing laundry, doing homework, etc., so I don't get a lot of time for myself, to do something I want. In the time that most people tend to find boring, I see that time as "Ok. Everything is done now, let's go do something I want." Usually I end up helping my dad on projects around the house that he's doing, or I go downstairs and do some type of art, usually drawing. Sometimes, when my dad is already watching movies, I will just go downstairs and watch with him, but if it's boring I'll just fall asleep. Usually, the only time I get truly bored is when we drive down to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina in the summer, because I don't have enough stuff with me to keep me diverted or busy for all of the 13 hours we are driving. That said, I do find boredom to be a good thing... most of the time.
@Julia Fede
I agree, Boredom is something everyone should experience. Boredom is a good thing because it can get your mind of the dreadful things in life. And boredom is often peaceful. Also I like how you find other ways to get out of being bored.
For me long time boredem has 3 stages . First, I'm content and I think of what I want , where I want to be , etcetera. Then ,once I've thought of what I want, it becomes harder to relax not being where I've invisioned myself in my daydream. Then eventually, even though I still have an idea what I want the unsettled feeling calms down. Maybe it helps me to be more patient.
Boredom is when there are so many things you can do, but you don’t realize it and sit around doing nothing. Kids around toddler ages in my opinion, never get bored. They always find a way to make fun out of any situation. As you get older however, its like most of the creativity is sucked out of you and instead of trying to actually make the best out of something, you just accept the fact that you’re bored and there’s nothing you can do about it. I agree on the idea that its your own job to make your life interesting. it is up to you to make a boring experience interesting. You’re the one who truly knows your wants and likes, so no one can really make your decisions for you. During a school week I don’t have much free time because I am so piled up with homework and studying for an upcoming test. Usually with the little time I have, I do things that are fun and actually beneficial, instead of sitting around doing nothing or watching TV. I don’t agree that students expect school to be fun. They expcect it to be boring. That is why sometimes whensome students are bored in class, they stop paying attention, and start engaging in side conversations or just zone out. I believe fun can play a very important part in learning, and it does. Actually having a fun experience with something you learned may make it an unforgettable lesson.
Boredom is not something that I usually have to experience. I never have free time. If I wake up around 6 and have to leave for school by 7, then I don’t have any time for anything in the morning. If I get home at 4 and do homework for 3 hours and have dinner and get ready for bed, it is almost 8. Then I will study and finish my homework, if I didn’t already finish it. By then, I will watch TV or play on my Nintendo Switch. On the weekends, I do homework and hang out with friends. In the rare instances that I experience boredom, I find what is making me bored and I do something else. Most of the times when I find myself bored is when I have to talk with people about something, especially family. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but sometimes talking with older family for extended periods of time is just not very interesting. Sometimes, there will be a group of adults and they will start talking about something that I don’t find interesting or just don’t care about. Recently, my parents and my uncle and aunt and grandparents started talking about stocks and boats and I was super bored. I respectfully left the conversation and went to go read a book. I find this to be the easiest way to get out of boredom, just leave the situation in which you are getting bored.
Personally, I believe as though “boredom” can mean many different things. For one, boredom can demonstrate laziness and the unwillingness to do things and complete necessary tasks, therefore creating EXTRA time, so the person really does have nothing else to do. Another way to interpret boredom can be a way to relax or think about things. It can give a person their freedom to think of something to do, and not follow a list of things to do. Also, boredom can inspire you to do other, better, more useful, more inventive and creative things and to explore your options. Thus, both good and bad things can be drawn from boredom, which can lead to and result in many different outcomes.
It is stated by Ms. Paul that for her children, “every spare moment is to be optimized, maximized, driven toward a goal.” Although I agree with this, it might overwhelm a child or overflow them in work. However, if done efficiently, this can train a child very well to do their best and to always find something to do. It can teach one to be goal-driven, optimistic, and clever with their time. THEY might as well be the ones to manage their time better, and to not procrastinate, over the ones that were never taught to USE their time instead of WASTE it.
I define "boredom" as when I have nothing to do and I don't know what to do. The definition has changed as I've gotten older because I use to be bored when I was doing something I didn't like. I agree with the idea that it's your job to make your life interesting because you have control over almost everything about your life so you should also be in charge of what interesting things happen from your actions. An example of a time I attempted to make things interesting was when I was hanging out with my friends and I thought it would be a good idea to do something else instead of playing video games the entire time because it can be boring playing video games for a long time, but we just continued to play video games. I have about 15 hours of free time in an average week, which is about 10 hours total on the weekends and about an hour per day on the weekdays. I probably only feel bored for less than half an hour if I'm bored at all because I always have something to do.
I believe that boredom means getting tired of an activity, or having nothing to do. When I was younger, I thought being bored meant not doing anything physical, but I wasn't aware that you could do so much more than just play in a yard. Now, I try not to let myself get bored because I get a feeling that makes me feel so hopeless. Most weeks I have school all day and then a sport after school on Tuesdays. On Sundays I have a different sport, but besides that I have free time. 60% of that time is spent doing homework, and most days after school I have so much homework I can't do anything else. When I am not playing sports or doing homework, I am hanging out with friends. If my friends can't hang out, that is when I find myself getting bored. So then i will bake something, watch tv, practice sports or try something else. I definitely believe that boredom can lead to creativity and self discipline. If you are never bored, you won't have a chance to think outside the box or be creative with thinking of something to do/being resourceful.
In the article, Pamela Paul presents two different extremes on the topic of boredom: Parents supporting their children's boredom as a way to develop creativity and self-sufficiency, and the over-protective hyper-parenting of the 21st century. I notice some parallels to my own life in each of these, but in general I feel that when it comes to boredom, I live somewhere in the middle of these two. If I complain that I am bored, my parents will suggest possible things to do, but ultimately, it is up to me and me alone to find something to do.
If I am bored, however, I also can entertain myself with nothing but my own mind. When I'm bored, I tend to think. I am a very thoughtful person, and there's almost always one crazy thought or another running through my brain. However, boredom leads to long trails of thinking, so captivating, amazing, and wonderful, and by the time you snap out of it you forget where you started. Another mental habit of mine is "listening to music." If I have a song memorized, I will play it back in my brain from start to finish, almost as if I am listening to the song. Just as I'm always thinking about something, there is always music in my head. Right now it's "Lights Down Low," but earlier it was "Pure Imagination" and "Girls Like You."
What I'm trying to say is, boredom truly is a great thing. Not only does it cause you to develop creativity and self-sufficiency, it also lets you discover your greatest source of entertainment: you.
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For me, boredom happens when I have nothing to do. Usually, I will go on a device to fill in my time. However, I get tired of staring at screens for long periods of time, so I begin to become bored. Personally, I do not feel as if this helps me because I have nothing to do and my mind just shuts down instead of “being creative” and I begin to feel something I can’t explain other than unpleasant. It really depends on your definition of boredom, since it can mean many different things. For example, if I am bored, but I am relaxed and I just let my mind wander or “meditate”, it brings peace and is nice. But if I don’t have anything to do it makes me feel uneasy. Usually, I am used to being busy studying, doing homework, etc, so when I have nothing to do I begin to feel anxious that I forgot about schoolwork or something else (is that weird?). Overall, I don’t enjoy boredom and even though it's supposed to challenge you, I think the outcome depends on the specific person.
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@Hope A
no it's not weird
I like how you mentioned that people get on devices and get off them because they start to lose lack of information
I'm rarely bored from the months of August to June. However, in the summer time when I have nothing to do, I go to the pool, go downtown, get coffee, or hang out with friends. I would prefer being bored over stress and little sleep any day, and it's nice to be able to catch up on a movie or YouTube videos every once in a while, considering I never do that during the school year. If all else fails I usually look up a drawing tutorial on YouTube, and let my creativity great ahold of me. When I was younger, I hated being bored, and I would love always complain that there was nothing to do. But as I move into the higher grades, I short of miss the feeling of being bored, as I need a break every once in a while. I never got a phone until last year, and neither of my parents have cell phones. Therefore, I've never been raised to take out my phone or any electronics at the dinner table, on a flight, or on a road trip. But when I see other young children doing that, it makes me feel almost gross inside. They are actual human beings around you, who would love to talk to you. Why would you take out a screen and talk to that instead? I just don't get it, and will never raise my children that way when I'm an adult. I think a little boredom is better than nothing, especially in this day and age where we turn to electronics as our first thought of a companion.
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Boredom. Every teen thinks they are bored when they are doing something that is not exciting. I am always bored when I am studying. Sometimes I just want to stop studying and go do something that is more fun. It is the worst feeling. When I am bored, I will usually go on my phone and do whatever I can. Sometimes when I study, I will fall asleep for an hour. Then I get a drink and continue studying. I don't try to fall asleep, it just happens. I wish this wouldn't happen, because then I am stressed. You only get bored when you are doing something you don't want to do, or if you are thinking about better things you can be doing. This is why boredom is one of the worst emotions.
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I feel like boredom is a wonderful thing to feel but it’s horrible to have for more than 10 minutes because it makes you feel like you have no purpose in the world, and that you would be better off asleep or doing something else that would just also get boring or repetitive in 5 minutes.
@Hank
I agree. At a certain point it makes you questions what you should be doing in life and if there is a point.
For me boredom is an act of not being busy, or tired of doing the same things. Over the years my opinion has changed on boredom. Elementary school I wasn’t allowed to play that many video games so being bored was not playing them. Today however things have changed, I play many video games, trying to seize every moment of free time I can on them, but sometimes I just get tired of doing what I love, needing to take a break. To answer one of the questions, students do think school should be fun. When going to a place every day for hours you would expect it to be not so dull. It’s like work, when getting a job you should aim for it to be something you enjoy not like labor. The way I realized true boredom is over the summer. Everyday I played video games, or went riding bikes, making me wish something I never thought I would wish for, to go to school.
From my perspective, I see boredom as the ability to not be entertained and consume time in a useful way. In daily life many of us say we are bored, but if we took the time to pay a little more attention to the world, then we could find something to do. I used to say that I was bored all the time, but as I have gotten older, I have learned to adapt to boredom. When I have nothing to do, I study or write poetry as it is a good use of my time. I do think that boredom can lead to creativity for it teaches us to take on challenges in the world. Boredom sparks our inquisitivity, and helps us to realize that not everything comes in the blink of an eye for we must work hard to achieve. As I have gotten older, my definition of boredom has been altered in a good way. I used to believe that there was actually nothing to do, but now I have came upon the fact that boredom is just another form of laziness. It is just an absence of concentrated mind and inactive progression in life.
You may have heard the saying "familiarity breeds contempt", but a saying that I believe to be even more true is "boredom breeds maturity." I believe this to be true, because when you are bored, you become more self-sufficient. You also, as a result of boredom, have to become more creative, and have to realize what needs to be done to satiate your boredom. In this article, the author says that it is important to feel bored, which I agree with, but I also know that it is not a good feeling to feel bored. In conclusion, those are my thoughts on boredom.
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I have had a fairly long career with dealing with dealing with boredom, be it free time where I have nothing to do, or a boring classroom scenario! To combat boredom, I usually pull out something that I need to do or want to do if I can. For instance, right now I am working on a fairly long book, and if I can, I pull out a plan or page that I'm working on so that I can progress in my book and have something to do! When I can't pull out something to do, I usually do some sort of planning in my mind. I can also make myself laugh I if am feeling bored and down if I need to. I think that every child and adult should deal with boredom every day for some time, because this can teach them problem solving strategies and get them started on productive creative things!!
In this article, Shannon Doyne claims that being bored is a good feeling. Not that it feels good, but it's good to feel it. She reminds us that life isn't meant to be an endless parade and that everyone should get used to being bored sometimes. I agree with Shannon because boredom is something that'll happen very often in one's life and if you don't allow yourself to get used to it then you're going to end up doing a lot of things that you might even regret... just to not be bored.
@Alicia I agree with you! It is good and healthy to feel bored because it is not good if we are aways so busy and have no time to be bored/ no time to our self.
In my opinion, boredom is when the human brain is unable to find something to do. The brain is so used to bouncing around between doing your homework, making you legs move to play a sport, that when it is not doing anything it feels useless, making that feeling of not doing anything even deeper. My parents have always taught me that a truly intelligent person is never bored, as an intelligent mind will always find something to do, whether hard or fun. Whenever I am bored, I like to make things. Whenever my brain feels useless, my hands take over and start fiddling with whatever is around. Like Pamela Paul said, I have created some cool objects while trying to get out of being bored, such as a grappling hook and a catapult. I usually have an hour or two of free time per day, and I use it to play board games and read. Sometimes I feel bored, but I resolve it by inventing a game for myself, or grabbing a book that I have not read yet. I do think that boredom can lead to creativeness and discipline, because if you can come out of boredom, it shows that you understand that there is always something that can be done, and that life is short and you should not spend you time splayed out on the couch, blaming you parents for not entertaining you. My school does not really cave to make school ¨less boring¨, and there is a simple reason for that: kids have to understand that there will be time to play, but there will also be times of work.
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Ask yourself, what are you giving up by hustling? Are you giving up more than you are getting? What is a good balance?