Boredom used to be a luxury. No, really. It was a thing people had, not something they fled from at all costs.
You’d be stuck in traffic with nothing but your own thoughts. You’d wait in line and just… exist. You’d get so bored in class that you’d start doodling in the margins of your notebook, and maybe, just maybe, you’d accidentally draw something amazing.
But now? Now, boredom is something we extinguish the second it appears.
Your hand twitches toward your phone at the first hint of stillness. A red light. A slow moment in a conversation. That weird two-minute stretch between ordering coffee and getting it. These used to be gaps in your day. Now they’re just places to scroll.
Here’s the problem: we didn’t actually kill boredom. We just fed it junk food until it mutated into something worse.
The Boredom Paradox: Overstimulated, Underwhelmed
If boredom was really dead, we’d all feel deeply engaged with our lives. We don’t.
Instead, we feel restless and drained at the same time. The internet didn’t get rid of boredom; it industrialized it. Made it into something constant, a chronic dissatisfaction that no amount of scrolling can fix.
We used to be bored and thought things through. Now we’re bored and open a new tab. We used to be bored and daydreamed. Now we’re bored and refresh Instagram. We used to be bored and created things. Now we’re bored and consume bite-sized junk that evaporates instantly.
This is the part no one talks about: boredom isn’t supposed to feel good, but it’s supposed to lead somewhere. Modern boredom is just an endless cycle of seeking just enough distraction to avoid discomfort, but never enough engagement to actually feel satisfied.
Boredom Used to Be Good for You
Your best ideas? Probably came when you weren’t doing much. Walking. Showering. Driving in silence.
That’s because when your brain isn’t occupied, it enters default mode processing. This is where the real magic happens: where your subconscious starts making weird, unexpected connections.
Einstein had breakthroughs while daydreaming. Writers solve plot problems on long walks. You remember something important right before falling asleep.
That’s the power of boredom. It forces your brain to wander, and in wandering, it stumbles onto things it never would’ve found otherwise.
But now? We never let ourselves hit that state. We yank our brains back to low-effort, high-reward distractions the second they try to breathe.
So how do we fix it? Because clearly, what we’re doing isn’t working.
Stop Treating Boredom as a Glitch: Boredom isn’t a bug in your brain. It’s a feature. It’s a sign that you’re understimulated, but that’s not necessarily bad. Let yourself feel it without immediately reaching for something to fill the space.
Cut Out the Micro-Stimuli: If you can’t stand waiting 30 seconds without checking your phone, that’s a problem. Give yourself dead time. No podcast while brushing your teeth. No phone while waiting for the elevator. Let the silence stretch.
Engage in ‘Slow’ Activities: The goal isn’t just to avoid digital distractions, it’s to reintroduce deep, immersive experiences. Read a long book. Write by hand. Cook something complicated. These things retrain your attention span.
Let Your Mind Wander: Go for a walk without music. Drive without a podcast. Stare at the ceiling. Trust that your brain will start thinking about things. (It will. That’s what brains do.)
In a world that never stops, the most radical thing you can do is stop on purpose.
Boredom isn’t the enemy. It’s the space where ideas happen. The pause where thoughts unfold. The moment before a breakthrough.
So put the phone down. Let the silence stretch. See what your brain does with the space you give it.
It might surprise you.