Where did boredom go?

When is the last time that you’ve been bored? This is a question I’d like you to ask yourself. Is it rare? Frequent? What do you do when you encounter this feeling? Do you sit with it or try to escape it? How does it make you feel? What happens if you sit with it long enough?

The reality is that in modern society, boredom has become almost an extinct species. Something we hear about, but rarely see. And that’s because we’re engineering it out of existence. The process is nearly complete.

Boredom is an uncomfortable feeling. But that’s also the point.

As I’ve described it in my recent piece for MS NOW (formerly known as MSNBC), “Boredom is a transitional state that frequently precedes curiosity, imagination and original thought.” It is a cognitive state when you encounter a certain uncomfortable friction: whatever you’re currently doing, thinking, or experiencing isn’t sufficiently satisfying.

“Boredom is not a bug in human cognition. It’s a complex neurological feature that can fuel intr…