Are mobile devices the end of boredom?

[Bob Russell]

It's something that the tech geek has known for many years now. You can carry music, video, ebooks, email, games and much more with you wherever you go. But has it ever occurred to you that, in fact, we might have pretty much come to the end of boredom? Almost true.

Mark Cuban writes effectively about this topic in his very popular BlogMaverick. He says that mobile technology has filled all those downtime minutes on the train, or in waiting line or even just sitting around. It used to be that these were often boring times with nothing to do. Now mobile devices give us an abundance of distractions and entertainment that awaits us every time we can find a spare moment.

As expressed in his blog, Mark has hit the mark as usual. He always has a way of writing something that makes you stop and think about something in a new and interesting way.

But if we think it through a bit, we may find that it's a great point, but not the whole story. Boredom is always going to be part of the human equation. It can be reduced, but will never go away. No matter how many games and books and movies we carry with us, we'll still be bored. There are times when it just seems like entertainment is the same old thing over and over and we get tired of it. It often just doesn't seem meaningful. So, sometimes we feel like we're just not in the mood to pick up another frivolous book or watch another movie. And at times it just feels like too much work to attack a book that's profitable and useful to read. So despite the increased options, we again find ourselves bored.

Isn't it only when we fill our life with meaningful pursuits and activities to the brim that we discover the nooks and crannies of spare moments are delightfully filled with frivolous pursuits?

So, whether it's due to an overabundance of leisure, or just because there's something more important on your mind, simple forms of entertainment will not always be engaging. We'll still have moments of boredom.

On the other hand, having said that, I can confidently say that I'm looking very much forward to my lunch break today when I'll watch an episode of a very exciting spy series on my Treo. I'm definitely not going to be bored!

[pruss]

And there is still the boredom when having to do a boring task that does not allow one to use the gadgets. :-) E.g., boring business conversations.

And of course plain boredom is one thing, but existential ennui another--from that, the gadgets are a dangerous distraction, since existential ennui is a sign that one should lead a more meaningful life, and allowing oneself to be distracted from this is dangerous.

While my life is chock full of gadgets, I do think another serious danger is that they decrease one's solitude--the time one spends alone, or alone with God. While one could instead simply be thinking about important things (whether the Big Things or just practical, but important, matters), or uniting one's soul to God in prayer, the temptation is just to pull out a book or video game.

[rmeister0]

Moments of boredom are not always a bad thing. When I used to bus into downtown to work, I didn't take gadgets with me. It was my time to think, to ponder, to get my head together before the work day started.

Pruss has it right. We're not over-medicating, we're over-distracting. Even something as simple as going to a restaurant and being able to sit in a direction where you aren't assaulted by at least one television. One of my favorite places now has video advertising in the restroom! The sound from the adverts clashes with the sound from the satelite radio.

[Bob Russell]

I'm guessing that "existential ennui" means being bored with life in general as opposed to bored with the moment at hand. Is that the idea? (It was not so easy to determine from a quick Google.)

And you make a great point. Whether it be prayer, meditation, time at a park, or just a few moments of stillness, I think it's important to have that quiet time. Even those who are religious seem to find too many ways to distract themselves, and very few minutes for spending time with God.

Our culture doesn't value quiet time much, and one can easily pass through life day by day without finding any. In fact, some people find it impossible to be with themselves anymore, but need people or tv or radio around to be content, even if it's just background noise. When that happens, I think it is a flashing sign to each of us that some quiet downtime is really needed.

[Laurens]

You people should read some of Neil Postman's books. Specifically the famous "Amusing Ourselves to Death" (which is even more topical now than it was back in the mid-80s) and "Technopoly".

[gadgetguru]

Problem with all these stuffs, is that we tuned out of the wider world, thus, those moments where we are bored and our minds wander, we now devote to entertainment. In our fast and hectic world, those times are sometime, the only times we had where we can concentrate on our live's purpose or problems.

As to end to boredom, technology does minimize them, but it also brings it own problems like those times when we want to be alone, and the cellphone keeps ringing... (surely, you can turn the phone off, but you wouldn't to miss your bosses' phonecall or your missus'). But boredom is never ending, that's why we looks to the next big book, next big movie, or next great song... tech companies knows these needs, so they capitalize on it by making it easier to obtain them and bilk us of our hard-earned cash...

[Antoine of MMM]

I am finding that with my 650 that the boredom times that I have now are more severe than they used to be. Whereas I can do something to get away from boredom, having it all in one device adds the piece of not beign able to get away. That in and of itself is a problem. Maybe one of these days computing will be so seemless and I wont care that big bro is all over the place with me able to access my info on any wall, in any comp screen at any time, but for now, I am learning to enjoy those bored moments and cut off completly, let my brain rest some, and then have a refreshed focus and joy towards mobility and computing.

[Brian]

For times when you're held captive waiting in line, in the doctor's office, on a bus, train, or plane, then I definitely agree that handhelds can become a remedy for these moments of "boredom". This is why we're starting to see such a push for gaming, music, and mobile video on our mobile phones as their multimedia capabilities get more and more advanced. Besides entertainment and leisure, there's also much to be said about using our handhelds to be productive.

As more and more people integrate their mobile devices into their lives, it could create a societal problem as gadgetguru mentioned. Are we starting to tune out too much?

We mustn't forget how to unplug and spend time with ourselves and those around us, despite all of the distractions and cool gadgets .