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I'm a writer, a multifaceted creator and an all round storyteller @ Lagos State University
Lagos, Nigeria
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BOREDOM
<p>The Virtues of Boredom</p><p>Modern society treats boredom as an emergency requiring immediate intervention. We reach for our phones at the slightest hint of idle time, filling every moment with content, notifications, and stimulation. Yet this frantic avoidance of boredom may be robbing us of something profoundly valuable.</p><p>Boredom is not merely the absence of entertainment; it is a generative state that our minds desperately need. When we allow ourselves to be truly bored, without rushing to fill the void, something remarkable happens. Our thoughts begin to wander, making unexpected connections and exploring territories that scheduled productivity never reaches. The greatest creative breakthroughs often emerge not from relentless focus but from the spaciousness that boredom provides.</p><p>Furthermore, our intolerance for boredom has created a generation unable to sit with discomfort or engage in sustained, difficult thinking. We have become dependent on external stimulation to regulate our internal states, losing the capacity for self-directed attention that builds resilience and depth of character. Children especially suffer from this, never developing the imaginative resources that flourish only in unstimulated time.</p><p>The dopamine-driven architecture of modern technology exploits our fear of boredom, keeping us scrolling and clicking while our attention spans shrink and our ability to engage deeply with complex ideas withers. We mistake constant stimulation for living fully, when in reality we are skimming across the surface of existence.</p><p>Perhaps we should reconsider boredom not as a problem to solve but as a feature of the human experience worth protecting. Those empty moments staring out windows, waiting in lines, or lying awake before sleep are not wasted time but opportunities for the mind to consolidate, reflect, and create. By embracing boredom rather than fleeing from it, we might rediscover capacities for creativity, contemplation, and genuine presence that our overstimulated culture has nearly extinguished.</p>
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