What is Boredom?
Boredom is defined by Portuguese language dictionaries as a feeling of disgust, annoyance with no apparent cause. Furthermore, it is defined as a bored feeling resulting from some waiting. A new definition for boredom was recently published as a result of a Canadian survey, which defines boredom as "the adverse experience of wanting, but not being able, to perform an activity gratifying". All definitions point to the difficulty in dealing with stimuli, which is at the base of boredom.
What are the symptoms of boredom?
Boredom is not a disease and, perhaps for this reason, talking about symptoms can be complicated, but we can say that, as a condition, boredom can show telltale signs, such as a feeling of emptiness, unwillingness to perform routine activities and disinterest in lived reality. It is important to pay attention to the intensity of these signs that, in extreme conditions, can be indicative of depression. In cases of boredom, the duration of these signs is shorter, the activities seem meaningless and boring.
How does boredom set in?
It is important to keep in mind that when we talk about boredom, we are not dealing with an entity or a parasite that takes over the human body. We are referring to a way of relating to reality and its stimuli. In this sense, talking about boredom means talking about directing attention towards you, towards your failure or difficulty in performing rewarding activities. In short, we can say that boredom sets in when, for some reason, life around us is no longer interesting or stimulating. But it is not about blaming the subject for feeling that way. There are numerous social and cultural factors that contribute to this condition.
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Boredom, culture and society
The society we live in has developed ways of using culture to achieve other goals, such as better performance at work. Therefore, if you pay attention, you will notice that the pleasurable activities of your life or your leisure moments are, to a great extent, copies of your work routine. Going out to dinner with friends, for example, can be an activity easily compared to a business meeting, as we often end up talking about work. If you sit down to watch television, most of the scenes reproduce an everyday, routine day, and our attention is drawn to this repetition, giving the impression that life is a continuum, as if the current situation were something that has always existed and will always exist. Understanding boredom as part of this process, of this boring routine that is established, can be important for the discussions to permeate the subject, helping him to understand his emotional condition.
How to find out more?
The new definition of boredom was published by the University of York, which is in the journal “Perspectives on Psychological Science”, available online. Some books like Philosophy of Boredom, by Lars Fr. H. Svendsen, are an important way to understand how boredom is a recurrent subject for philosophers.
Juliana Spinelli Ferrari
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Psychology from UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista
Brief psychotherapy course by FUNDEB - Foundation for the Development of Bauru
Master's Student in School Psychology and Human Development at USP - University of São Paulo