A perspective piece published in Communications Psychology by Katy Y.Y. Tam and Michael Inzlicht suggests that digital media use may actually contribute to higher levels of boredom.
Despite the growing accessibility of entertainment, people are reporting more frequent experiences of boredom, with potential adverse effects on mental health, learning, and behavior.
In today’s world, where entertainment is readily accessible at our fingertips, reports of boredom are paradoxically on the rise, especially among younger generations. We can instantly stream movies, interact with friends online, and consume an endless supply of content. Yet, data from national surveys and studies indicate that people today report feeling bored more frequently than ever before, with boredom rates significantly increasing among adolescents and college students since 2009.
Given that chronic boredom is associated with issues like anxiety, depression, and even aggressive behaviors, understanding what drives this increase is important. Tam and Inzlicht propose that our reliance on digital devices and the constant accessibility of entertainment could be making us more susceptible to boredom rather than relieving it.
The authors argue that the structure and nature of digital media may heighten feelings of boredom. Drawing on existing empirical research, they explore how digital media might be shaping people’s expectations for engagement, fragmenting attention, and reducing a sense of meaning in daily activities. Each of these mechanisms could create a cycle where people increasingly turn to digital devices to alleviate boredom, only to find themselves feeling less satisfied and more prone to boredom over time.
First, they argue that digital media sets a high bar for engagement, as it provides a stream of constantly rewarding stimuli. This pattern encourages users to seek greater stimulation, raising their expectations for what is “sufficiently engaging.” For instance, the evolution of social media content—moving from text to images to short-form videos—reflects an increased need for quicker and more intense engagement to capture users’ attention.
As a result, activities that don’t match this level of stimulation, like reading a book or attending a lecture, may feel boring by comparison. Evidence from experience-sampling studies, which track individuals’ boredom levels in real time, supports this notion; people often report heightened boredom after engaging with digital content, especially in social media and smartphone use.
Another core issue is that digital media fragments attention, making it difficult to focus on a single activity. Devices like smartphones offer an array of distractions—notifications, multiple apps, and the ability to quickly switch between activities—that disrupt sustained focus. Studies show that frequent interruptions decrease satisfaction and lower users’ ability to fully engage in one task, leading to a greater likelihood of boredom.
For example, research has found that merely having a smartphone nearby can decrease attention and enjoyment in face-to-face social interactions, intensifying boredom. Digital multitasking, such as browsing on a phone while watching TV, also undermines people’s ability to stay present and engaged, further contributing to feelings of dissatisfaction and restlessness.
A third key mechanism involves the sense of meaning, which the authors describe as essential for sustained engagement. Digital media, particularly social media and online browsing, often delivers fragmented and disconnected information. This disjointed experience can reduce the sense of coherence and meaning, leading individuals to feel that their time spent online is unfulfilling.
Experimental studies show that people frequently feel an underlying sense of meaninglessness after consuming quick, unrelated pieces of information, which can drive a cycle of switching between content in search of something more meaningful. However, this search rarely satisfies, as digital content is often designed for quick consumption rather than deep engagement, which may leave users feeling hollow and, ultimately, bored.
While Tam and Inzlicht’s synthesis is comprehensive, they note that most referenced studies focus primarily on adolescents and young adults. This raises questions about whether the findings apply broadly across age groups or within different cultural contexts.
This paper underscores that digital media, while providing endless stimulation, paradoxically contributes to rising boredom by heightening engagement demands and decreasing attention.
The research, “People Are Increasingly Bored in Our Digital Age”, was authored by Katy Y.Y. Tam and Michael Inzlicht.
