Does the Internet Lead to Boredom or Does Boredom Lead to the Internet?

Everyone has those Facebook friends who post almost everyday with new status updates and filtered selfies. I’m not opposed to updating social media, but I’m always curious about the other half of Facebook who are media silent. Could it be that those people are living busier, more adventurous lives than the people who are online more often? Or are they just finding more innovative ways to entertain themselves?

Some researchers and authors, like Graham Linehan, argue that while the internet successfully reduces boredom, the constant stream of information leaves no room for innovative or creative thinking. Linehan says, “I have to use all these programs that cut off the internet, force me to be bored, because being bored is an essential part of writing, and the internet has made it very hard to be bored.”

Last year psychologists at the University of Central Lancashire conducted an experiment to study boredom and creativity. Two groups were picked for the study. One group was given a tedious task to complete before taking a creativity test, while the other group went straight to the creativity test. The results showed that the group who with the boring task came up with more creative ideas afterward than the other group.

So how does boredom relate to internet usage?

In 2012, the mobile company Flurry analyzed mobile usage for smart phone apps. The company found that the average time spent on the internet by a U.S. consumer was around 70 minutes per day and the average time spent using mobile apps was around 127 minutes.

However, internet and smart phone usage can’t always be linked to boredom. Students need to spend time on the internet in order to manage classes. It’s almost unheard of to not have an email account these days. The study conducted by Flurry does not keep track of what the internet and mobile apps are being used for. Accessing Google Maps for directions is different from signing on to Facebook or Twitter due to boredom. What this study does effectively illustrate is the amount of time U.S. consumers spend staring into a screen.

It can’t be determined whether some people have more exciting lives based on the amount of time they spend on the internet, but it is clear that the more time people spend looking into a screen is time they could have spent interacting with the world around them. Next time you find yourself bored resist the urge to grab your smart phone. Exercise your own creativity and focus on something that interests you!

Other sources: NPR

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