People are getting more bored despite endlessly entertaining content: studying

The boredom epidemic is on the rise.

A new study published in Communications Psychology by Katy YY Tam and Michael Inzlicht found that people are more bored than ever before – and digital media use is to blame.

Despite the endless amount of entertainment content that is accessible in today’s world, data from the study titled “People are increasingly bored in our digital age” showed that there is a higher rate of people reporting experiences of boredom .

Teenagers and college students in particular are feeling bored more often since 2009, the study says.

A research finding used in the study revealed an increasing trend in the frequency of boredom from 2010 to 2017 among American high school students. A similar increase in boredom was found from 2009 to 2020 across 64 studies involving Chinese college students.

Tam and Inzlicht said they believe digital media is actually increasing feelings of boredom, a conclusion they reached from their findings.

First, they argued that digital media creates too much stimulation for people, which makes them disinterested in lower-stimulation activities like reading a book or attending a lecture.

Tam and Inzlicht cited other experience sampling studies, which track individuals’ boredom levels in real time, to support their argument. They said most people are more bored after dealing with digital media.

Another piece of evidence is that digital media “fragments attention,” as the study says, meaning people find it harder to focus on a single activity. Smartphones, for example, create so many distractions for people that they break their focus.

According to Tam and Inzlicht, studies have proven that frequent interruptions decrease people’s enjoyment and ability to engage in a task, which leads to increased boredom.

Researchers purportedly found that having a Smartphone nearby causes less attention and satisfaction in face-to-face social interactions.

Digital multitasking, such as scrolling on the phone while watching TV, also hinders users’ ability to pay attention and stay engaged in the moment.

The study also found that digital media “often provide fragmented and disjointed information,” which makes people feel unfulfilled with their time spent online.

People who frequently consume bits of fast, disconnected digital media are rarely satisfied with what they find. So, they end up feeling bored.

“In this digital age, learning to navigate the ordinary moments is more critical than ever,” reads the last sentence in the study.

Tam and Inzlicht noted in their study that their research focused primarily on teenagers and young adults — so the jury is still out on people from other age groups when it comes to the link between digital media and boredom.