Boredom is an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the opportunities surrounding them.
Causes and Effects
Although it has not been widely studied, research on boredom suggests that boredom is a major factor impacting diverse areas of a person's life. Noob People ranked low on a boredom-proneness scale were found to have better performance in a wide variety of aspects of their lives, including career, education, and autonomy. Boredom can be a symptom of clinical depression Boredom can be a form of learned helplessness a phenomenon closely related to depression. Some philosophies of parenting propose that if children are raised in an environment devoid of stimuli, and are not allowed or encouraged to interact with their environment, they will fail to develop the mental capacities to do so.
In a learning environment, a common cause of boredom is lack of understanding; for instance, if one is not following or connecting to the material in a class or lecture, it will usually seem boring. However, the opposite can also be true; something that is too easily understood, simple or transparent, can also be boring. Boredom is often inversely related to learning, and in school it may be a sign that a student is not challenged enough, or too challenged. An activity that is predictable to the students is likely to bore them.
A study of 1989 indicated that an individuals impression of boredom may be influenced by the individuals degree of attention, as a higher acoustic level of distraction from the environment correlated with higher reportings of boredom.
Boredom has been studied as being related to drug abuse among teens. Boredom has been proposed as a cause of pathological gambling behavior. A study found results consistent with the hypothesis that pathological gamblers seek stimulation to avoid states of boredom and depression.