The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently published What the Mysterious Boredom Divide Teaches Us. We are all capable of boredom, despite engagement in tasks that might be expected to drive us. The article recounts diary entries of a cosmonaut's boredom as he was "hurtling through low-Earth orbit at around 8 km/s (17,900mph) in a small aluminium can" just days into a seven-month adventure. He characterized it: "the drab routine has begun.”
The article asks us to accept that we all experience boredom, and that "there’s a surprising amount of variation in how much monotony each person can handle." Perhaps even what we each consider monotony. During the last 18 months, not everyone enjoyed their "normal" life. I have struggled with empathizing with that because life at the OJCC largely went on as usual. Most of what I know regarding what you have gone through is viewed through the lens of my own COVID experience. If you do not relate your perspective, I may never appreciate its distinctions and impacts.
I have recently been hearing about various state workers' compensation system's plans for "returning to work," and I struggle with their challenges. At no time did the OJCC ever close, cancel mediations or trials, or otherwise let our customers down. A very small minority of staff took to telecommuting for a period. A couple of landlords restricted the public's access to our facilities. But, we went to work daily (I did some telecommuting when the bridge closed). See The Bridge that Isn't, and stay tuned for more on its reopening.
So, how does our personal reaction to boredom vary from other's? The BBC reports that the isolation some experienced during the pandemic lockdowns, lockouts, and isolation drove them to intriguing tasks. One man "diligently recreated a Babylonian feast from a recipe on a 3,750-year-old clay tablet," a woman "resat her school exam paper from seven years ago out of mild curiosity," and others likewise found distractions. I have noticed a great many cheerfully doing yard work this last year. I have recently reveled in exercise as I never have in my life.
The article asserts that we experience boredom somewhat uniquely. Boredom, or at least peace and quiet, are appealing, even soothing to some and conversely very frustrating to others. But, the BBC suggests that our society is increasingly boring us. It notes that generations born into the digital age, who have nearly unlimited access to the Internet (information), games (distraction), and each other (interaction) are nonetheless reporting boredom. These kids today huh? I remember if I wanted to be bored, I had to walk to the park, uphill, both ways.
As psychology has refined what it defines as boredom, its study has evolved. They have engaged in studying the impacts of repetitive tasks, and the level of mental arousal stimulated by activities, and even worked with a “boredom proneness scale.” The last was largely subjective, dependent upon the study participant's perceptions and self-reporting. Those various hypotheses, studies, and engagements have led mental health experts to now define "at least five types of boredom."
The definitions now range from "wandering thoughts" to reactions to your "captivity" in work or school, to mental distraction in fantasizing about "things you would rather be doing," to “searching boredom for a way out," to a simple feeling of distraction and helplessness labeled “apathetic boredom.” They are all symptoms of our "loss of control of our surroundings," leading to a deficit in our effectiveness and an opening for "negative emotions, such as anger and sadness."
Whichever afflicts us, the experts say, the impacts are objectively measurable with an MRI of our brain. When we are bored, the way our brains work is impacted in a demonstrable way. The distinction is apparently not so much in how boredom occurs or impacts each of us, but the paths we choose out of that state, or our choice to embrace it. Note that: we all have boredom and it is real; for some reason, we just react differently. See, the researchers have concluded that some people simply do not react, as boredom does not bother them.
So, the question really becomes what do you do when you perceive "the boredom signal," and perceive "a boring moment?" Does it "enhance creativity," or encourage "impulsive behavior" like "substance abuse, gambling addiction, compulsive mobile phone use, depression," or worse? How we each react is central to who we are and our broader sense of self. Can we condition ourselves to react positively?
Whether we can learn different reaction(s) to boredom is still being studied, as well as how deeply it may influence us. From our reactions to our coping, psychologists strive to understand how much of our boredom experience is nature and nurture. The article closes with a hypothesis that boredom and reaction are all very personal and individual.
So, if your experience during COVID was tedious and challenging know that your reactions are largely personal. If you perceive others better dealing with either the isolation or the return to "normal," know that their reactions are equally personal, and no "better" than our own. How we each react is neither "normal" or otherwise, it is personal. As we progress back to our old world or onward to some "new normal" (though I detest that triteness) what that will mean for each of us is personal.
The unexpressed point of the article, an underlying suggestion, is perhaps that our ability to cope with our perceptions is perhaps just as individualized and personal as our reactions. Thus, perhaps we may each need to consider how we are coping, and introspection. And, it is worthwhile to consider that those around us may be facing personal circumstances and reactions with which we struggle to commiserate, much less fully comprehend.
Challenging days like ahead. In those (people swear this is true) places where kids have been out of school, they will return (our schools have been open since August 2020, so again I struggle to empathize). Offices (yes, some remain closed) will reopen. Social events will return, as will distractions like theater, shopping, and more. The challenges of yesterday will evolve or devolve into today's. Our personal proclivity for boredom is unlikely to change, though our surroundings and activity may.
How we each deal with the challenges ahead will likely remain very personal. Despite that, perhaps there will be opportunities for us to both address our perceptions and remain patient with those around us? For those returning, welcome back. For those that never left, thanks for staying the course.
