AT A discussion panel with other TEDx speakers several months back, the subject of creativity came up. One of the panellists said that creativity happens when he鈥檚 bored. I turned to the man next to me, a popular actor and YouTuber, in surprise. 鈥楻eally? People are creative when they鈥檙e bored?鈥� 鈥榊es鈥�, he replied, 鈥榳hen we are reading or taking a walk, not distracted by social media.鈥�
It took a moment for that to sink in. Apparently for many young people today, there are only two states of being: distracted or bored.
Once again, I felt lucky to have been born long before computers were common and not to have had access to the internet or to smartphones until my infatuation with reading books was fully formed. Creativity comes easily to me for a number of reasons, but certainly the fact that I watched little TV as a child and spent a lot of time with my nose buried in books helped. So too did my love of walking 鈥� without a headset, allowing my mind to roam freely. These days I make an effort to spend little time on social media, trying to ensure that I get my desired tasks done first 鈥� reading, walking, playing with dogs, taking a nap, and, of course, doing my work 鈥� before relaxing with YouTube. As a result, rarely do I feel bored, and creativity is natural.
It concerns me that for some people, the opposite of boredom is distraction. If boredom is the state in which reflection happens, and we never give in to that state, how are we to analyze our own lives and what is happening around us, to ponder varying paths for our future, and to consider whether the things we take for granted, the way things 鈥榟ave always been鈥� really make sense?
A frequent argument that I have with young people is whether social media has had more of a positive or negative impact on our lives. It鈥檚 mixed, of course, but the evidence continues to pour in about the harms of social media on many (if not all) of its users. There are indisputably negative effects on body image and self-esteem. The influence of social media on politics and other aspects of life has been almost universally atrocious, with crazy conspiracy theories spreading like wildfire and reasoned debate consigned to the margins because it鈥檚, well, boring to be reasonable. All the other problems aside, let us not underestimate how harmful social media is simply for taking time away from being reflective or creative.
Some people would argue that social media is their outlet for creativity. But for the vast majority of users, spending hours a day skimming through other people鈥檚 posts, existing in a nether world beyond serious thought, creativity is surely absent. As, in too many cases, is rational thought.
At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old person, I have to point out the dangers of our infatuation with distraction and our fear of being 鈥榖ored鈥�. For those of us who believe that life needs a purpose to be meaningful, the constant craving for entertainment is hollow and dehumanizing. Entertainment, even mindless entertainment, can be a form of therapeutic relaxation to unwind after a stressful day, but it should not be the main purpose of our existence.
Meanwhile, there is a strong case to be made for the occasional daydream. Not that we should waste away our days pursuing idle thoughts, but neither should we be so occupied that we fail to take time out to relax and reflect. We are people, not machines; we should not always be busy, and our minds need some freedom to roam. Daydreaming can be productive, too; often when we are too stressed to think freely, taking time out allows our minds to recover and get back to work.
And again, we need creativity to solve intractable problems like the climate crisis. If people live in a constant state of distraction, they will both ignore the serious issues that require solutions and lack the mental power to address them. Within reasonable limits, seemingly mindless activities such as staring at the walls, daydreaming, or going for walks without listening to a book, Podcast, or music, rather than being considered a waste of time or unproductive, should (again, within reason) be labelled as some of the most important parts of our day, an outlet for the creativity which in itself is the greatest weapon of boredom.
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Debra Efroymson is executive director of the Institute of Wellbeing.