Why Boredom Matters

In today’s fast paced digital world, something always seems to be vying for our attention. How many times do you go out to dinner and look around ,expecting to see people conversing and communicating, but instead you see couples who are individually glued to their devices. This brings up the question. When do we actually have time to be bored anymore?

Although a vast majority of people may see this lack of boredom as a blessing, lack of boredom also may equate to lack of time for creative and reflective thought. In fact, CNN health reports that teens spend an average of a whopping 9 hours a day on media, leaving little time for anything or anyone else. What will be the effect of all this screen time on today’s generation? What will be the long term effect on a generation who consumes more that creates?

Well, you might argue that someone’s creating what teens are consuming, but that’s another problem that takes me right to Vonnegut’s early objections to media influence in works like Harrison Bergeron and Fahrenheit 451. When these stories first came out, it was hard to believe that anyone’s life would revolve around a screen but now it’s happening in homes all around the globe. In fact most people get their news from social media today, rather that from actual devices .The fear that emerges is we are creating humans who are manipulated by technology and are easily led. Instead of creating their own future, will the next generation be glued to their screens drinking whatever kool aid the media creators concoct?