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{{Short description|Mental state experienced when an individual is left without anything to do}}
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{{redirect-multi|3|Tedium|Bored|Ennui|the 2008 film|Khastegi|other uses|Bored (disambiguation)|and|Ennui (disambiguation)|and|Boredom (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Souvenir Seller - Moscow - Russia cropped.JPG|thumb|right|262px|A [[souvenir]] seller in [[Moscow]] appears bored as she waits for customers.]]
{{Emotion}}
In conventional usage, '''boredom''', '''ennui''', or '''tedium''' is an [[emotion]]
In ''Experience Without Qualities: Boredom and Modernity'', Elizabeth Goodstein traces the modern discourse on boredom through literary, philosophical, and sociological texts to find that as "a discursively articulated phenomenon...boredom is at once objective and subjective, emotion and intellectualization—not just a response to the [[modern world]], but also a historically constituted strategy for coping with its discontents."<ref>Goodstein, Elizabeth S. 2005. Experience Without Qualities: Boredom and Modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 3.</ref> In both conceptions, boredom has to do fundamentally with an [[Time perception|experience of time
==Etymology and terminology==
The expression ''to be a bore'' had been used in print in the sense of "to be tiresome or dull" since 1768 at the latest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=b&p=27 |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2013-12-06 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213061635/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=b&p=27 |archive-date=2013-12-13
The French term for boredom,
==Psychology==
[[File:La Touche Lennui 1893.jpg|thumb|left|''Boredom'' by [[Gaston La Touche|Gaston de La Touche]], 1893]]
[[File:Bored girl.jpg|thumb|right|A girl looking bored
Different scholars use different definitions of ''boredom'', which complicates research.<ref>Vodanovich, Stephen J. (November 2003) "[https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120443/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2f48/fb5444550d14c5b4a09e5a54d2a312221233.pdf Psychometric Measures of Boredom: A Review of the Literature]" ''The Journal of Psychology''. '''137''':6 p. 569 "Indeed, a shortcoming of the boredom literature is the absence of a coherent, universally accepted definition. The lack of an agreed-upon definition of boredom has limited the measurement of the construct and partly accounts for the existence of diverse approaches to assessing various subsets of boredom."</ref> Boredom has been defined by Cynthia D. Fisher in terms of its main central [[psychological]] processes: "an unpleasant, transient [[Affect (psychology)|affective]] state in which the individual feels a pervasive lack of [[interest (emotion)|interest]] and difficulty concentrating on the current activity."<ref>{{harvnb|Fisher|1993|p=396}}</ref> [[Mark Leary]] et al. describe boredom as "an affective experience associated with cognitive attentional processes."<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.51.5.968 |author1=Leary, M. R. |author2=Rogers, P. A. |author3=Canfield, R. W. |author4=Coe, C. |title=Boredom in interpersonal encounters: Antecedents and social implications |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=51 |pages=968–975 [968] |year=1986 |issue=5}}</ref> [[Robert Plutchik]] characterized boredom as a mild form of [[disgust]]. In [[positive psychology]], boredom is described as a response to a moderate challenge for which the subject has more than enough skill.<ref name="Finding Flow">{{cite book | last=Csikszentmihalyi | first=M. | author-link=Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi | title=Finding Flow: The Psychology Of Engagement With Everyday Life | publisher=Basic Books | year=1997 | isbn=978-0-465-02411-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCkWHZUqWg4C | page=}}</ref>
There are three types of boredom, all of which involve problems of engagement of [[attention]]. These include times when humans are prevented from engaging in wanted activity, when humans are forced to engage in unwanted activity, or when people are simply unable for some other reason to maintain engagement in an activity.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.concog.2005.11.009 |author1=Cheyne, J. A. |author2=Carriere, J. S. A. |author3=Smilek, D. |title=Absent-mindedness: Lapses in conscious awareness and everyday cognitive failures |journal=Consciousness and Cognition |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=578–592 |year=2006 |url=http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/~oops/article.php?src=yccog798 |pmid=16427318
[[Absent-mindedness]] is where a person shows inattentive or forgetful behaviour.<ref name=ODam>{{cite web|title=absent-minded|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/absent-minded|publisher=Oxford dictionaries|access-date=5 August 2011
==Physical health==
[[Lethargy]] is a state of tiredness, weariness, [[fatigue (medical)|fatigue]], or lack of energy. It can be accompanied by depression, decreased motivation, or apathy. Lethargy can be a normal response to boredom, inadequate sleep, overexertion, overworking, stress, lack of exercise, or a symptom of a disorder. When part of a normal response, lethargy often resolves with rest, adequate sleep, decreased stress, and good nutrition.
==Philosophy==
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Boredom also plays a role in [[existentialism|existentialist]] thought. [[Søren Kierkegaard]] and [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] were two of the first philosophers considered fundamental to the existentialist movement. Like [[Blaise Pascal|Pascal]], they were interested in people's quiet struggle with the apparent meaninglessness of life and the use of diversion to escape from boredom. Kierkegaard's ''[[Either/Or]]'' describes the [[rotation method]], a method used by higher-level aesthetes in order to avoid boredom. The method is an essential [[hedonism|hedonistic]] aspect of the aesthetic way of life. For the aesthete, one constantly changes what one is doing in order to maximize the enjoyment and pleasure derived from each activity.
In contexts where one is confined, spatially or otherwise, boredom may be met with various religious activities, not because religion would want to associate itself with tedium, but rather, partly because boredom may be taken as the essential human condition, to which God, wisdom, or morality are the ultimate answers. Many
[[Martin Heidegger]] wrote about boredom in two texts available in English, in the 1929/30 semester lecture course ''The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics'', and again in the essay ''What is Metaphysics?'' published in the same year. In the lecture, Heidegger included about 100 pages on boredom, probably the most extensive philosophical treatment ever of the subject. He focused on waiting at [[railway station]]s in particular as a major context of boredom.<ref>Martin Heidegger. ''The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics'', pp. 78–164.</ref> [[Søren Kierkegaard]] remarks in ''[[Either/Or]]'' that "patience cannot be depicted" visually, since there is a sense that any immediate moment of life may be fundamentally tedious.
[[Blaise Pascal]] in the ''[[Pensées]]'' discusses the human condition in saying "we seek rest in a struggle against some obstacles. And when we have overcome these, rest proves unbearable because of the boredom it produces", and later states that "only an infinite and immutable object—that is, God himself—can fill this infinite abyss."<ref name="Pensées">{{Cite book | title = Pensées | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DdlNuvGMPisC | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-87220-717-2 | last1 = Pascal| first1 =
Without stimulus or focus, the individual is confronted with [[nothing]]ness, the meaninglessness of existence, and experiences existential [[anxiety]]. Heidegger states this idea as follows: "Profound boredom, drifting here and there in the abysses of our existence like a muffling fog, removes all things and men and oneself along with it into a remarkable indifference. This boredom reveals being as a whole."<ref>Martin Heidegger, ''What is Metaphysics?'' (1929)</ref> Schopenhauer used the existence of boredom in an attempt to prove the [[vanity]] of human existence, stating, "...for if life, in the desire for which our essence and existence consists, possessed in itself a positive value and real content, there would be no such thing as boredom: mere existence would fulfil and satisfy us."<ref>Arthur Schopenhauer, Essays and Aphorisms, Penguin Classics, {{ISBN|0-14-044227-8}} (2004), p. 53 Full text available online: [https://books.google.com/books?
[[Erich Fromm]] and other thinkers of [[critical theory]] speak of boredom as a common psychological response to industrial society, where people are required to engage in [[alienated labor]]. According to Fromm, boredom is "perhaps the most important source of aggression and destructiveness today." For Fromm, the search for thrills and novelty that characterizes consumer culture are not solutions to boredom, but mere distractions from boredom which, he argues, continues unconsciously.<ref>[[Erich Fromm]], [http://www.erich-fromm.de/data/pdf/1972c-e.pdf "Theory of Aggression"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513020501/http://www.erich-fromm.de/data/pdf/1972c-e.pdf |date=May 13, 2011 }} p. 7</ref> Above and beyond taste and character, the universal case of boredom consists in any instance of ''waiting'', as Heidegger noted, such as in line, for someone else to arrive or finish a task, or while one is travelling somewhere. The automobile requires fast reflexes, making its operator busy and hence, perhaps for other reasons as well, making the ride more tedious despite being over sooner.
==Causes and effects==
[[Image:Vasnetsov Nesmeyana.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[The Princess Who Never Smiled]]'' by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]]]]
Although it has not been widely studied, research on boredom suggests that boredom is a major factor impacting diverse areas of a person's life. People ranked low on a boredom-proneness scale were found to have better performance in a wide variety of aspects of their lives, including career, education, and autonomy.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Watt, J. D. |author2=Vodanovich, S. J. |title=Boredom Proneness and Psychosocial Development |journal=Journal of Psychology |volume=133 |issue=1 |pages=149–155 |year=1999 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(200001)56:1<149::AID-JCLP14>3.0.CO;2-Y|pmid=10319449 }}</ref> Boredom can be a symptom of [[clinical depression]]. Boredom can be a form of [[learned helplessness]], a phenomenon closely related to depression. Some philosophies of [[parenting]] propose that if children are raised in an environment devoid of [[Stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]], and are not allowed or encouraged to interact with their environment, they will fail to develop the mental capacities to do so.
In a learning environment, a common cause of boredom is lack of understanding; for instance, if one is not following or connecting to the material in a class or lecture, it will usually seem boring. However, the opposite can also be true; something that is too easily understood, simple or transparent, can also be boring. Boredom is often inversely related to [[learning]], and in school it may be a sign that a student is not challenged enough, or too challenged. An activity that is predictable to the students is likely to bore them.<ref>[http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED397840 Ed.gov] – R.V. Small et al. ''Dimensions of Interest and Boredom in Instructional Situations'', Proceedings of Selected Research and Development Presentations at the 1996 National Convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (18th, Indianapolis, IN), (1996)</ref>
A 1989 study indicated that an individual's impression of boredom may be influenced by the individual's degree of [[attention]], as a higher acoustic level of distraction from the environment correlated with higher reportings of boredom.<ref>{{cite journal| last = Damrad-Frye| first = R|author2=Laird JD| title = The experience of boredom: the role of the self-perception of attention| year = 1989| journal = J Personality Social Psych| volume = 57| pages = 315–320| doi = 10.1037/0022-3514.57.2.315| issue = 2}}</ref> Boredom has been studied as being related to [[drug abuse]] among teens.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Iso-Ahola, Seppo E. |author2=Crowley, Edward D. |title=Adolescent Substance Abuse and Leisure Boredom |journal=Journal of Leisure Research |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=260–271 |year=1991 |url=http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=EJ429375|doi=10.1080/00222216.1991.11969857 |bibcode=1991JLeiR..23..260I }}</ref> Boredom has been proposed as a cause of [[pathological gambling]] behavior. A study found results consistent with the hypothesis that pathological gamblers seek stimulation to avoid states of boredom and depression.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2466/
Some recent studies have suggested that boredom may have some positive effects. A low-stimulus environment may lead to increased creativity and may set the stage for a "[[eureka moment]]".<ref name="MyUser_Cbc.ca_November_22_2016c">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/boredom-benefits-1.3860655 |title='It's like a little trigger': The surprising benefits of boredom|author= Technology & Science – CBC News |newspaper=Cbc.ca |access-date=November 22, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122153029/http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/boredom-benefits-1.3860655 |archive-date=November 22, 2016 }}</ref>
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[[Boreout]] is a [[management theory]] that posits that lack of work, boredom, and consequent lack of satisfaction are a common malaise affecting individuals working in modern organizations, especially in office-based white collar jobs. This theory was first expounded in 2007 in ''Diagnose Boreout'', a book by Peter Werder and Philippe Rothlin, two Swiss business consultants. They claim the absence of meaningful tasks, rather than the presence of stress, is many workers' chief problem.
A "[[banishment room]]" (also known as a "chasing-out-room" and a "boredom room") is a modern [[employee exit management]] strategy whereby employees are transferred to a department where they are assigned meaningless work until they become disheartened enough to quit.<ref name=Torres>{{cite news|last=Torres|first=Ida|title=Japanese companies using 'banishment rooms' to push employees to resign|url=http://japandailypress.com/japanese-companies-using-banishment-rooms-to-push-employees-to-resign-3029793/|access-date=24 August 2013|newspaper=Japan Daily Press|date=May 30, 2013
==In popular culture==
"[[Meh]]" is an [[interjection]] used as an expression of [[Indifference (emotion)|indifference]] or boredom. It may also mean "be it as it may".<ref name=zimmer>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2013/09/06/meh_etymology_tracing_the_yiddish_word_from_leo_rosten_to_auden_to_the_simpsons.html |title=A History of Meh, from Leo Rosten to Auden to The Simpsons |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |author=Benjamin Zimmer |date=September 6, 2013 |access-date=February 26, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228041933/http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2013/09/06/meh_etymology_tracing_the_yiddish_word_from_leo_rosten_to_auden_to_the_simpsons.html |archive-date=February 28, 2014 |author-link=Benjamin Zimmer }}</ref> It is often regarded as a verbal shrug of the shoulders. The use of the term ''"meh"'' shows that the speaker is apathetic, uninterested, or indifferent to the question or subject at hand. It is occasionally used as an [[adjective]], meaning something is mediocre or unremarkable.<ref name="Collins">{{cite news|title=Bothered much? 'Meh' is a word |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Meh-New-Word-In-Collins-English-Dictionary-Slacker-Term-Enters-Lexicon/Article/200811315152720 |publisher=[[Sky News]] |date=November 17, 2008 |access-date=November 23, 2008
===Superfluous man===
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===Existentialist fiction===
The bored [[antihero]] became prominent in early 20th century [[Existentialism|existentialist]] works such as [[Franz Kafka]]'s ''[[The Metamorphosis]]'' (1915),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Barnhart|first1=Joe E.|title=Dostoevsky's Polyphonic Talent|date=2005|publisher=University Press of America|location=Lanham|isbn=978-0761830979|page=151}}</ref> [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]'s
===Grunge lit===
{{Main|Grunge lit}}
Grunge lit is an Australian [[literary genre]] of [[fiction]]al or [[Autobiographical novel|semi-autobiographical]] writing in the early 1990s about young adults living in an "inner cit[y]" "...world of disintegrating futures where the only relief from...boredom was through a [[nihilism|nihilistic]] pursuit of sex, violence, drugs and alcohol".<ref name="leishman"/> Often the central characters are disfranchised, lacking drive and determination beyond the desire to satisfy their basic needs. It was typically written by "new, young authors"<ref name='leishman'>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/14443059909387538|title = Australian grunge literature and the conflict between literary generations| journal=Journal of Australian Studies| volume=23| issue=63| pages=94–102|year = 1999|last1 = Leishman|first1 = Kirsty}}</ref> who examined "gritty, dirty, real existences"<ref name="leishman"/> of everyday characters. It has been described as both a sub-set of [[dirty realism]] and an offshoot of [[Generation X]] literature.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Vernay |first=Jean-François |url=http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5550 |title=Grunge Fiction |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103212109/http://litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5550 |archive-date=2010-01-03 |encyclopedia=The Literary Encyclopedia |date=6 November 2008 |access-date=9 September 2009}}</ref> Stuart Glover states that the term "grunge lit" takes the term "grunge" from the "late 80s and early 90s—...Seattle [grunge] bands".<ref name="stuartglover.com.au">{{cite web |last=Glover |first=Stuart |url=http://www.stuartglover.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/A-short-note-on-Grunge-Fiction.pdf |title=A Short Note on Grunge Fiction |access-date=2017-02-03
==See also==
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*[[Dysthymia]]
*[[Motivation]]
==Further reading==
* Carrera, Elena (2023). ''[https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/boredom/9C856A9CB3B04FC739FDAA752F16C791 Boredom]''. Cambridge University Press.
==References==
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