Arthur C. Brooks argues that smartphones let us escape boredom instantly, which kills the introspection that builds meaning and purpose. He recommends leaving your phone at the gym, commuting without media, and sitting with 15 minutes of boredom daily to reverse rising depression and anxiety.
Explosion of depression and anxiety in our society today is because people actually don't know the meaning of their lives, much less so in previous generations. Tons of data show this. And furthermore, we're not even looking. Why not? I'll tell you why not. We figured out a way to eliminate boredom. How? The answer is that thing in your pocket with the screen, which you take out even when you're standing on the street corner waiting for the light to change, is like, "I might have to wait here for 15 seconds." If every time you're slightly bored, you pull out your phone, it's gonna get harder and harder for you to find meaning And that's the recipe for depression and anxiety and a sense of hollowness, which by the way, are all through the roof. I get it. You don't wanna be bored. You need to be bored. Be bored more. Tomorrow, when you go to the gym in the morning after you wake up, don't take your phone. Can you handle it? Just being in your head? I promise you, you'll have your most interesting ideas. Commute with nothing, not even the radio. Can you do that? Start getting better at periods that are 15 minutes and longer of boredom and watch your life change. Number 1, you'll be less bored with ordinary things in your life. If you get better at the skill of boredom, you'll be less bored with your job. You'll be less bored with your relationships. You'll be less bored with the things that are going on around you. But more importantly, you'll start digging into the biggest questions in your life. Purpose, meaning, coherence, significance, and who knows, you might just get happier.
