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Kirra Gibson

Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

October 31, 2017

Brainwashed by Boredom: Why Teenagers do Stupid Shit

When I sit down, I immediately grab the throw pillow to use as a guard between my

emotions and me. The couch is squishy and dips into the middle, which makes it difficult to ever

get comfortable, not like thats possible when the therapist sits there expectedly. Even though I

have seen therapists for a few years now, explaining my behaviors is still difficult. I feel the

insistent need to provide the therapist a complex answer for my behaviors. I am Sad. I am

Anxious. I am Lonely. While I do feel all these emotions, a different emotional state of being

pressures me into harmful behaviors. Boredom- its the unreachable itch on my back, the pesky

brother that wants to play a game, but all the ones I suggest he declines, and the squirming in my

desk chair while the professor lectures in his monotone voice. I would rather feel my stomach

growling, than to just sit there and wait. But, I can never quite tell my therapist this, because

saying Im bored feels like such a sad, stupid excuse. But, what if this excuse is valid? And

what if boredom just requires more exposure so people will take it seriously?

There are two degrees of boredom as theorized by Peter Toohey: situational boredom,

brought on by predictable and monotonous activities, and chronic boredom, a type that mirrors

depression (Toohey). People tend to believe that boredom is a temporary feeling that is easily

brushed off. What about when boredom gets dangerous and out of hand? Chronic boredom is the

much more cynical type of boredom people fail to take seriously. People who experience chronic

boredom engage in behaviors dangerous to themselves and society. Horror movies base their plot
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around a characters struggle with this type of boredom. In the horror classic; The Shining, the

main character, Jack Torrance, experiences Cabin Fever brought on by his chronic boredom.

Cabin Fever can be summarized as the combination of anger and boredom that naturally occurs

from being cooped up participating in the same activities (Oxford Dictionary). Jack is hired to

watch over the Overlook Hotel, a theorized haunted hotel deep in the mountains. He is a writer,

recently fired from his teaching job due to his alcoholic tendencies. Jack struggles with

depression and bouts of chronic boredom. Chronic boredom; when coupled with the paranoid,

the risk takers, and the sensation seekers creates a deadly cocktail. People will do whatever they

can to rid themselves of boredom. Jacks pre-existing condition, coupled with the possible

spiritual presence of the hotel, causes him to go insane. Boredom has an innocent enough

demeanor, like the two young twins seen in the halls of the Overlook Hotel, but acts like a needy

child, and when the attention boredom needs is not given, they throw a nasty tantrum.

According to research done by Thomas Goetz, German professor at the University of

Konstanz, there are five types of boredom. They range from different levels of awareness and

each type is in accordance of personality (Goetz). First, there is calibrating boredom. This is

when people daydream of new experiences, but dont have the motivation to go through with it.

Secondly, there is searching boredom. People who experience searching boredom are motivated

to find bigger and better opportunities. Then, there is reactant boredom, which accompanies

mundane repetitive, inescapable activities. The fourth type is indifferent boredom. Passing out on

the couch, while watching television after quite a long day is an example of this type of

boredom. Finally, the last type of boredom discovered is apathetic boredom. This type of

boredom is extremely unpleasant and is comparable to depression. What is truly interesting about

these findings are that personalities dictate which type of boredom is experienced. Goetz also
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concluded teenagers experience apathetic boredom the most frequently since it closely links with

depression.

Boredom starts off at a young age, and gets children into trouble. A mother stands in the

kitchen, phone pressed up against her ear, while her child tugs at the hem of her skirt. The child

whines, Im bored. The mother points at the phone angrily, and shushes the child away. The

kid has a basket full of toys, a shelf full of books, and containers of art supplies to play with, but

none of these activities sound interesting to the child. This is when a child may resort to taking a

colored marker and scribbling on the wall. The act of defiance gives the child the rush they seek.

Teenagers act the same way when faced with boredom. Parents want teenagers to engage in

appropriate activities- homework, reading, and studying. Teenagers however, dont have the

same tolerance for such activities as adults do. According to research, some people are more

prone to boredom than others, teenagers, being one of these subgroups. James Danckert, a

professor of cognitive neuroscience backs up this claim through his research, People who are

reaching the end of their young adulthood years, around age twenty-two, may be less likely than

those in their late teens to get bored (LiveScience). This is because neurologically the teenage

brain is not as fully developed as an adults. The brain develops back to front, so one of the last

regions to develop is the Prefrontal Cortex. The Prefrontal Cortex is the part of the brain

associated with self-control and self-regulation. People who have more control over their lives

are content, so a lack of self-control triggers impulsive decisions.

Boredom is a broad emotion that everyone generally experiences in the same way. One

fact is for certain, people want to avoid feeling bored at all costs. However, boredom can be

incredibly difficult to satiate, especially for teenagers. Children, when they are feeling bored will

temporarily complain, but their overactive imaginations will soon whisk them away to worlds
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with dragons and princesses. While adults have the life experiences and fully developed

prefrontal cortex to more easily combat boredom. Adolescents have raging hormones and

identity confusion. Teenagers are bound to lose interest in pre-pubescent activities, and must

seek out new activities. Participating in leisure activities is a part of being a teenager. Yet,

studies show leisurely activity alone is not enough to stimulate the cerebral cortex. Leisure

boredom is defined as, The perception that leisure experiences do not satisfy the brain for

optimal arousal (Wendell). The brain believes drugs, alcohol, etc. are the only ways to fulfill

the reward circuitry system. Then, using drugs and alcohol so much and so often eventually leads

to developing a tolerance for these substances. Each time requiring more and more to reach the

level of euphoria the user is seeking.

The problem with adults when they hear teenagers explicitly saying they are bored is

because they dont believe them. Teenagers will flat out say I had nothing better to do and a

parent will still look for other reasons as to why their child acted out. Often times it is blamed on

the crowd they are hanging with. While peer pressure exists, and while getting involved in the

wrong crowd can be a contributing factor for teens to get into trouble, there is a reason why the

wrong crowd was sought out in the first place. Teenagers seek thrills, and hanging out with the

kids who vandalize the school through obscene graffiti is a perfect high. Parents will blame their

children acting out as deficiencies in the childs personality. Parents will blame the child

themselves, saying, that they were raised better than that. Parents arent properly taught how to

deal with child boredom. There are countless of parenting magazines that will provide boredom

busting activities but, this isnt addressing the feelings associated with boredom.

Not long ago, while waiting for a hair appointment at a salon, I overheard a hair stylist

talking with her client about emotions. The two older women were bonding over the fact that
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they never cry, (obviously they cry over Lifetime movies though, while enjoying their second

and third glasses of wine). People bond this way now. Emotions make people uncomfortable, so

often these feelings are avoided at all costs. When other people cry it is hard for people to

appropriately react. Sure, some people with the comforting gene will wrap people up in a warm

hug when they are scared. For most people in modern society, however, they will attempt to

pretend like the situation isnt happening. People typically do not want sadness to rub off on

them. People are social creatures, so people naturally mimic those around them. When somebody

yawns and you feel enough empathy for them, then you too will yawn. Somebody laughs, and

naturally the corners of your mouth will go up in a smirk, and soon enough, even if you try hard

enough not to, you too will be laughing. Laughing, an indication of happiness, fosters an

optimistic environment. On the other side of the spectrum, when somebody cries you will

eventually break down or at least start to tear up. The corners of your eyes will start to water, and

your mouth will quiver. It is such a natural human reaction, yet people treat it as weakness.

Vulnerability, even if it is a reaction to another person putting themselves out there, opening up

emotionally to us, putting emotions out for others to see is still scary.

Sadness, the lump you feel in your throat. Anger, the blood rushing to your head when in

a heated argument. Boredom, the unappeasable need for stimulation. All of these are negative

states of being that people cannot tolerate. Instead of seeking out healthy coping mechanisms,

people resort to mind numbing activities. Any activity you partake in is fun at first, but too much

of it is going to eat you alive, because soon you wont be able to get enough. Once you stop the

drinking or the smoking then the feelings are going to catch up to you. The nasty fact is emotions

demand to be felt. Pushing them further into your psyche will only cause them to grow stronger

later. Boredom acts the same way. Emotions are tricky like that, you feel the need to fight them
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off when really you should let them transpire. Letting emotions run their course through

acceptance that the emotion is happening will help in the long term.

While boredom is not a primary emotion, boredom should have as much exposure and

awareness as other emotions. A test performed by Maastricht University had participants sit in a

lab, with nothing to do except the option to self-administer electric shocks. The participants

chose to administer shocks because of lack of arousal, which suggests that people will do

anything to avoid feeling bored. What was even more interesting was another finding in the

research. Later, participants were shown three types of film segments: a sad film, a monotonous

film, and a neutral film. People who viewed the monotonous film administered shocks more

frequently and at a higher intensity than those who viewed the sad or neutral film. The results

indicated the test subjects did not act on self-injury urges, but hurt themselves to fill the void in

the lack of simulation they were receiving (Psychology Journal). These self-administered shocks

are an example of non-suicidal self-injury. Also known as NSSI, these are self-harm behaviors

people engage in that are meant to relieve negative feelings and thoughts through physical

trauma.

Self-harm has a connotation that the act is only done by those who are experiencing real

urges to kill themselves. However, there are a variety of reasons why people engage in self harm.

Adolescents turn to self-harm tactics for relief from whatever discomfort they are experiencing.

Self-harm itself is a topic that is imperative for society to open up further for discussion.

Unfortunately, there is a stigmatization that surrounds depression, suicide, and self-harm.

Speaking from personal experience, my first time engaging in self injury was when I was bored.

I was in treatment for my eating disorder, therefore was being monitored heavily for any eating

disorder behaviors. Prior to treatment I was so intertwined with my eating disorder, so I felt this
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void in my life, that I knew needed to be filled or else I would go mad with the spare time on my

hands. Simply out of boredom, one day I engaged in a self-harm behavior. I did not do it with the

intent to seriously harm myself, but rather to relieve myself of the boredom I was experiencing.

My brain convinced myself it would be a one-time occurrence, but I soon became addicted.

Boredom is what first prompted the behavior, and it did later turn into a vicious cycle of my

depression pressuring me to hurt myself, but there were still times when the only reason I hurt

myself was because I was bored.

Tyler the Creator, rapper producer, and music video director wrote a song titled Boredom

on his fourth and most recent album, Flower Boy. Tyler raps about feeling isolated and lonely in

this song. The intro explains how when having fun, time flies. Quite the opposite of when

someone is bored. The overall theme is about the inability to find time for oneself. People are so

caught up in work, school, and other commitments that it is hard to put aside time for self-care.

Instead of using free time proactively, down time is spent perusing the internet or scrolling

through the same social media posts over and over again. It is ironic that the further

technologically advanced our society becomes the more bored people feel. No matter how many

updates are released or new software is developed, the concepts behind them are essentially the

same as the last. Yet people log onto these accounts- Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. basically

all hours of the day expecting to find something so compelling, when in reality it is just a

multitude of selfies.

Social media plays a whole other role in teenage boredom. Teenagers can get into trouble

so easily online, a few clicks away while researching for a project can lead to dangerous sites on

the web. Social media is toxic enough for adolescents, due to the unrealistic standards social

media presents for teenagers. Perfection is what people strive for on their accounts. The perfect
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skin, hair, body, life; everything has to be presented beautifully on social media. Boredom

prompts adolescents to constantly check their own social media accounts and compare it with

others their age. Boredom can lead to teenagers sending messages they are later going to regret.

Snapchat is known as a platform where young adults send and receive nudes through. There are a

countless number of phone applications and computer websites where teenagers can chat with

strangers from around the world. The idea itself sounds proactive, but online chatting can

become dangerous. People are very persuasive online, and when paired with boredom teenagers

can be easily influenced to exchange inappropriate content with one another.

The boring side of boredom does not make the news. A headline is not going to pop up

reading, This college student fell asleep in lecture hall! This happens all the time, and is not a

news story worth any persons time to cover. What should be happening are investigations as to

why the student is falling asleep in class. Students paying for higher education should be able to

stay awake in class. They should want to stay awake in class. The student should be easily able

to remain awake in class, because the content presented should be information that is easy to

obtain. The content should not be disengaging to the point where the student is dozing off. Not to

place all the blame on professors, since a students brain chemistry has to do with the students

actions as well. The lecture ideas are easy to lose track of when a student feels bored. John

Eastwood, a Psychologist at York University explains that there are three functions involved in

attention. The person first needs to be suitably aroused (Eastwood). Then we have an adaptive

system that acts as a backup, so even if lost in daydreaming, the system will still pick up on

outside cues relating to the task at hand. The third function acts as an executive system that

monitors awareness, the system consciously remains focused, even if the task does not hold out

interest.
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What catches the medias attention and makes the news is teenage rebellion. One way

teenagers rebel is through picking fights. When bored, people cope through channeling their

boredom through anger, misdirecting their emotions at another person. The New York Times

published an article about teenagers acting out during winter break. Teenagers will find

themselves bored during Christmas break because they suddenly find themselves without the

structure of school. Reports show teenagers prefer to gather at these malls and pick fights with

one another. Police hypothesized teenagers acted out because they were bored. The news article

itself is not unique, teenage mall shenanigans take place every day. What supports this papers

claim is that were the police explicitly identified boredom as being the reason behind the brawls.

Boredom contributes to the development of health problems. A common problem in

adolescence are eating problems. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, a professor and researcher of health

sciences and nutrition concluded that, Fifty percent of teenage girls and thirty percent of

teenage boys partake in disordered eating behaviors to some degree (Neumark). Binge eating is

one of the ways people eat unhealthily. Mindless snacking is a pastime several individuals

engage in when bored, since it is insanely easy to scarf down a bag of chips when there is

nothing better to do. Studies show that people enjoy experiencing food while bored, whether it

be through cooking or tasting because the mind transforms into a highly sensory state of being

(Puniewska). Also, falling asleep during inappropriate times or sleeping too much are both

causations of boredom. People who feel confined in their unengaging work environments

informed employers of back pain. This is most likely the effect of the person attempting to get

comfortable at the desk emotionally and physically. Hunching over, hands under the chin,

attempting to contort the body in any way possible contributes to sore muscles. Ways to combat

these situational boredom cases are to take breaks from these activities.
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Besides the trouble boredom conjures, boredom reaps positive benefits as well.

Experiencing lulls throughout the day are healthy, and can foster creativity and growth. Boredom

leads to daydreaming, and daydreaming leads to new artistic projects. Bertrand Russell, a

philosopher who spent time in prison philosophized prison was the ideal setting for a creative

person. When people feel occasionally bored it encourages people to explore new goals.

Boredom, if taken the right approach can lead to new career opportunities, if youre

disinterested with your job, this may be a sign that the job isnt the right fit or youre not being

challenged (Puniewska). Of course, the concept of downtime is difficult to practice since

society fosters workaholic tendencies. Feeling bored is our brains cue that our time could be

better utilized.

Boredom is a part of life, and a part of a teenagers adolescent growth. Teenagers are

bound to make mistakes because its a part of growing up. This essay is not to condemn

teenagers and ridicule them of their choices, but rather to exemplify how the particular feeling,

plays a role in teenage decision making. Drug and alcohol usage are habits that should not be

taken lightly, and although they are technically illegal, there is no denying that teenagers are

going to ignore the law drink and smoke. What teenagers need to be aware of are the reasons

why they are participating in these types of behaviors. If the reason is to shut out unfavorable

thoughts and sensations, then teenagers need to be aware of their emotions. Educators and

parents need to recognize boredom, and the negative effects it brings.

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