The most productive thing you can do is nothing

“I get bored.”

This line comes from the chorus of a popular Deftones song, “Bored,” but it got me thinking: how often do we actually get bored?

Today’s age is dominated by constant stimulation. Social media browsing fills the empty time between events. TV fills the silence in the background of our homes. Music fills our ears every time we walk. We scroll when we wake up; we scroll when we go to bed.

Think about it, when was the last time you took a break? When do we ever actually get a break? Outside of sleep, real mental quiet is rare.

This point isn’t new, and few would disagree that this negatively affects our mental state. There’s nothing inherently evil about technology, but, like many things, the consequences are born out of excess use.

A cross-sectional study conducted by Frontiers between 2021 and 2022 demonstrated that “screen time has a direct, positive, and significant impact on anxiety … and depression levels.”

Attention fragmentation is another point of concern. This refers to constant interruptions that break cognitive momentum and force the brain to repeatedly refocus. Over time, this task-switching reduces the brain’s capacity for maintaining attention.

Many studies, such as one from the Journal of the American Medical Association, found there to be a “significant association” between digital media use and subsequent ADHD-like symptoms, even among people who haven’t been diagnosed with the disorder before.

Constant stimulation also makes non-screen activities more difficult to enjoy. There is plenty of neuroscience research that supports this, showing that unpredictable social feedback — such as likes, comments and notifications — reinforce behavior in a way that constitutes reward conditioning. Repeated, unpredictable digital rewards shape our subconscious expectations of stimulation, which makes less stimulating activities less enjoyable by comparison.

Additionally, algorithms are driven by what keeps users on the app, not by what’s best for users’ mental health. Direct or indirect social comparison, quick content shifts and dramatic videos all further heighten the aforementioned negative mental effects.

The solution isn’t to cut out all screens, nor would that be realistic, given how essential technology is in our modern age. Rather, I think we should take initiative by actually pursuing boredom. I don’t mean staring at a wall or even passive laziness, but rather engaging in less-stimulating activities that allow the brain more room to chill out.

A 2024 study showed that mind-wandering, which is often present in less-stimulating activities, is correlated with increased creativity and creative performance. It makes sense that greater cognitive performance can be achieved through giving the brain time to actually process information. Several studies have shown that this same kind of mind-wandering improves both the brain’s memory of past events and its capacity to concentrate on current events.

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I’ve taken multi-month breaks from social media in the past, and I noticed many of the same patterns these studies describe. I enjoyed ordinary things more than I used to and adopted new hobbies I still participate in to this day. My days felt calmer, and I enjoyed being disconnected from the craziness of the world.

When implementing this change, I avoided going cold turkey because the brain has to slowly get used to not being stimulated all the time. I gradually reduced my usage instead, and as more time passed, I found that it became easier to stay off social media.

Cutting down social media usage isn’t the only solution available. Even smaller, intentional changes can help. Walking across campus without music or avoiding using your phone before class are two examples. It’s important to build discipline and not solely rely on motivation to maintain your changes.

We aren’t born to be this distracted, this twitchy, this unfocused. You’re being destroyed by something real, and it’s all within your hands. The first step is simply choosing the silence.

vanripjl@miamioh.edu

Jacob Van Riper is a junior business analytics and marketing double major, with a minor in psychological science. He is the marketing director at the Miami Catholic Newman Center and a senator for the Associated Student Government. He also serves as the deputy grand knight for the Oxford’s Knights of Columbus Council 18322, and hosts the metal and rock radio show “Soul Wars” at RedHawk Radio.