Boredom is a universal emotion that is often misunderstood and even stigmatized. Like other unpleasant emotions, such as anger and sadness, boredom is a part of life. Experiencing and managing negative emotions is essential to our mental health and well-being. Feeling bored is characterized by a lack of stimulation, interest, or challenge. While some equate boredom with laziness or a lack of ambition, it can have positive effects because, like other negative emotions, it signals that something needs to change.

Boredom often motivates us to change what we're doing. When it leads us to more creative, engaging, and meaningful activities, it's healthy and adaptive. Seeking stimulation is the natural response to boredom, and our digitally connected world offers 24/7, always-on media content. Scrolling on your phone, tablet, or computer can quickly become the knee-jerk response to feelings of boredom, but this may not always be in our best interest.

According to recent research by Tam and Inzlicht (2024), digital media as a quick fix is not the cure-all for boredom many believe it to be. Their findings suggest that in some cases, scrolling through media can make you feel more, not less, bored.

Their paper titled "Fast-forward to boredom: How switching behaviour on digital media makes people more bored" summarizes........

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