Information technology is the key to modern boredom. What was once a fascinating hobby for a few dozen burnt-out hippies in the Bay Area of California has clouded over the entire globe with a haze of bits and pixels. With one hand it delivers us from dull routine: the Internet can be infinitely enjoyable, a source of constant titillation, jokes, games, instant communication and other diversions. The opportunity to use the Internet in the workplace is one of the most effective means of relieving boredom ever devised. It's sometimes hard to imagine how workers ever survived without it. But technology can wield a whopping great stick as well: the same machines make it possible for bosses to scrutinise how much work you are actually doing and how much time you spending amusing yourself and planning your escape.

It's not yet clear whether the forces of stimulation and entertainment will overpower such formidable opposition, but it does seem that technology is, on the whole, duller than it used to be. For example, early personal computers were infinitely fascinating little devices. The Sinclair Spectrum was a mysterious black box studded with multicoloured, multifunctional rubber keys; it emitted novel squeaks and buzzes and the determined mind could transform its meagre computational resources into games that are still remembered fondly by people who still don't go out, nearly two decades later. And what is the modern equivalent? The Playstation - a near-featureless black or grey box with a couple of winking lights but no means of getting inside and messing around with the incredible technology within it. Enjoyment comes in pre-programmed, shrink-wrapped games packages, examples of second-division creativity intended as profitable merchandise for the latest movie. There is so much less room for tinkering or unlicensed creativity.

The Wider Effects of Boredom

What of boredom's more nefarious effects upon society and the wider world? Crime waves are often blamed on disaffected youths who claim they cannot find or think of anything else to do. Mugging, vandalism, theft and fighting may be impulsive reactions to prolonged periods of blank tedium. Drink and drugs seem the only sure way to escape boredom for a little while. Peer pressure to do all of these things can be crystallised in the taunt "you are such a boring ****".

Apathy, or applied boredom, has brought the number of voters who elect to participate in elections to record lows: could it be because politics has become as boring and predictable as the technocrats and pedants who become politicians?

Boredom has been linked to illness and depression. "[It] is the major component in what we call world underload, an unhealthy state characterized by low job demand. When you experience underload, the result is usually anxiety, which can eventually lead to illness", says Dr. Michael J. Smith, Ph.D., research psychologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati.

A recent edition of the New Scientist magazine featured an article on evidence for boredom in animals kept in inadequate conditions. For example, the confines of a zoo's enclosure have virtually nothing in common with a polar bear's natural environment. Before long, the forlorn beasts begin to exhibit repetitive behaviour. They pace up and down the concrete, tracing exactly the same steps, swooping their heads from side to side. They look very disturbed, they are portraits of frustration. Examination of captive animal brains has revealed that when certain neural pathways are damaged, stereotypical behaviour can develop. These findings have brought into question a huge body of research using live animals - it was presumed that they had no capacity for boredom and it played no part in their behaviour. Lab rats, it seems, are bored out of their tiny rodent skulls.

This hints at a deeper truth for humans - if you find yourself bored you are probably in a situation where your behaviour has been artificially restrained and your potential limited. Boredom is a biological alarm bell that you should be doing something else and if you don't, the damage may be permanent. Resolving to quit a job on these grounds is as valid as deciding to move on because of poor pay and conditions, or stress. Flight from boredom is in fact a laudable strategy upon which to build a career.

http://www.i-resign.com/uk/workinglife/viewarticle_122.asp

Posted in Labels: Research Posted by Jenny at 3:53 PM