The
Death of Boredom or Bored to Death?
I worry about my grandchildren, specifically,
and our youngest generation of students, generally, and their overall inability
to accept boredom into their lives. Without
boredom, how will they think?
When I was a child, my mother and father
expected me to rake, shovel, dust, and do a whole host of very boring things. Yet,
while I did these chores, my mind was active.
As a duster, I remember ‘staging’ commercials in my mind. I could dramatically wave my hands and ad lib
about my streak-free shine and Pledge’s ability to bring out the natural beauty
of the wood. As I got older, I used the
boring times, such as walking home from field hockey practice or washing dishes
at Friendlies, to problem-solve the ‘major’ issues in my young life. I ran scenarios; I pre-scripted upcoming
events (as in, 'I’ll say this, and then he’ll say that,' and 'then I’ll say…'); I
made plans, both for the weekend … and for the future. Even now, when I’m driving home to
Massachusetts or gardening in the backyard, my mind is active. Boredom is important to my mental
processes. Boredom is where I reminisce
about the past and sift through new opportunities, ideas, and solutions. Boredom leads to a clear mind. A clear mind leads to creativity.
The problem I see in my beloved and beautiful
grandchildren is their desire to fill every moment with activity and their
complete uneasiness with ‘boredom.’ If we are early to the movie and the previews
haven’t started, if we’re riding the escalator in the mall, or even standing in
the kitchen, waiting for the toast to pop up, they are texting or playing a
quick game of ‘Draw Something’ or 'Monster Busters,' on their phones. In the
back seat of the car, they have headsets on, cutting them off from both
conversation ... and observation.
They call it multi-tasking, but they watch TV
and work on their computers or fiddle with their cell phones at the same time, making even TV-watching less cerebral (if that’s
possible!), because they aren’t processing either the facial expressions or the
dialogue. If you ask them a thought
question about the show, they respond, ‘I don’t know. Why?’
as if thinking about the story-line was absurd.
I love them dearly, but I worry that I never ever hear them complain ‘I’m bored;’ and
as a result, I never ever get to say,
‘Well, go think of something to do.’
Aha! Parenting's "Why Boredom is Good for Your Child" and Essential Kids' "The Battle to Let Them Be Bored."
