Coping With Boredom

Boredom has gone from something we avoid to something we curate – a new metric in the self‑care economy to measure ourselves by. From 'rawdogging boredom' challenges to the obsession with performing “slow creativity,” we’re told stillness is a portal to a better, more imaginative self. But the research is messy, and our lived experiences even more so.

This week, Alice Griffin and Jannah Anderson dig into the neuroscience of boredom, the rise of the serial hobbyist, the existential itches that keep us chasing novelty, and the cultural urge to make boredom meaningful – even when the moments in between fail to deliver us anything profound.

☆ Are you a creative looking for support? Visit the ⁠Support Act Creative Industries Hub⁠ or call the Support Act Wellbeing Helpline on 1800 959 500 for a free and confidential chat (and remember, you don't have to be in crisis to call). Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who actually gets it and can hear you out. ☆

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They Want To Influence You To Do… Nothing by Alexander Nazaryan, The New York Times

Boredom, Sustained Attention and The Default Mode Network by James Danckert and Colleen Merrifield

You Need To Be Bored, Here’s Why by Arthur Brooks, Harvard Business Review

The Association Between Boredom And Creativity In Educational Contexts’ by Anke Zeißig, Julia Kansok-Dusche, Saskia M. Fischer, Julia Moeller, Ludwig Bilz

Boredom, A Lively History by Peter Toohey

Just Think: The Challenges Of The Disengaged Mind by Timothy D. Wilson, David A. Reinhard, Erin C. Westgate, Daniel T. Gilbert, Nicole Ellerbeck, Cheryl Hahn, Casey L. Brown, and Adi Shaked in Science

What Does Boredom Do To Us And For Us? by Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker