May Editorial Reflection: We Need to Be Bored

Boredom is often treated like a problem. A feeling we should avoid at all costs.
The second we feel unstimulated, we reach for our phones. Scroll TikTok. Refresh Instagram. Open YouTube. Anything to avoid sitting in silence.

But what if boredom is actually necessary?

Arthur C. Brooks briefly explains the benefits of boredom and why constantly distracting ourselves may be doing more harm than good.

One of the biggest takeaways from this idea is that boredom forces us to think. Not the surface-level thinking we do while multitasking, but the deep and uncomfortable kind.

Questions like:

• What is the meaning of my life?
• Why do I feel disconnected lately?
• Why is society becoming more divided?
• Am I actually happy, or just distracted?

Boredom creates space for reflection. And reflection creates clarity.

The issue is that many of us never allow ourselves to reach that point. Even when we are outside, waiting at a traffic light, sitting on a train, or standing in a queue, our heads are buried in our phones. We have become uncomfortable with stillness.

Constant distraction can create a kind of emotional hollowness. Maybe that is why so many people feel numb, anxious, or mentally exhausted all the time. We are consuming content every second, but rarely sitting with our own thoughts.

So instead of running away from boredom, maybe we need to lean into it.

Try:

• A social media fast
• Going on a walk without your phone
• Picking up a hobby just because you enjoy it
• Sitting in silence for a few minutes each day
• Allowing your mind to wander instead of constantly filling it with noise

Ironically, some of the best ideas are born out of boredom. Creativity needs space. Your brain needs moments where it is not constantly being stimulated.

If boredom did not exist, What’s the Trend would not exist either. It was created in one of those quiet moments where boredom turned into curiosity, and curiosity turned into an idea.