Olivia Vergopia | Head Editor
March 17, 2024
We’ve all turned to our phones when we get bored- they’re a single tap away. Our phones connect us to the world around us and to news stories, our friends and families, and meaningless memes. It also attaches us to our phones, but not for our benefit.
Phone usage gives users a hit of dopamine every time they pick up their cellphones. It becomes an addiction problem because dopamine keeps us wanting more and more. When we are bored, we turn to this temporary source of dopamine and begin the cycle of wasting our time on our phones. Next time you have the urge to pick up your phone for no reason, let yourself be bored.
Boredom actually has many benefits that are overlooked. Letting yourself be bored can actually heighten your creative abilities and allow you to think about things you would have never thought about. When you take out the obstacle that is wasting your time, you find things to do with your time that are more productive.
Some advice on how to fill your time when you are bored is to really reflect on your experiences, goals, and overall interests. You never know what you may come up with because most of the time we constantly fill our minds with media. When you do nothing, it requires your brain to think about things and develop the ability to be thoughtful, creative, and adapt.
Junior Liam Carroll said, “I think that I could definitely try not using my phone for a day. Even though it might be hard because I always have it with me, I would want to see how different my day would be.” People are aware that over-usage of phones is not good for them, yet they do not take initiative.
Some other perspectives on boredom include that it doesn’t matter that much. Junior Isaiah Johnson added, “I don’t think that I would be able to not use my phone for a day. It is convenient for messaging my friends and I also watch a lot of Instagram reels on my phone. I don’t understand why I would ever want to be bored.”
A lot of us use our phones as an escape from the things that we don’t want to do: homework, study, or work. Next time you catch yourself in this situation, try putting your phone across the room and let yourself be bored.
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