The boredom scroll on socials may be making your problem worse, study says

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN

(CNN) — Puppies, dancing babies, celebrity soundbites: A common go-to salve for a bout of boredom is to swipe through videos on your social media platform of choice. But that habit is likely making your problem even worse, according to new research.

“Our research shows that while people fast-forward or skip videos to avoid boredom, this behavior actually increases boredom,” said lead study author Dr. Katy Tam, a postdoctoral fellow of psychology at the University of Toronto at Scarborough.

“It also makes their viewing experience less satisfying, less engaging, and less meaningful,” she added.

With the wide array of entertainment at your fingertips, it’s easy to assume that people now are less bored than ever, Tam said. From 2008 to 2020, however, research has shown a growing trend of boredom in young people, she added.

“This is concerning because boredom is linked to negative mental health, learning, and behavioral outcomes, such as depressive symptoms, poorer academic grades, and even sadistic aggression,” Tam said.

Expectations versus reality of boredom

To investigate the roll that fast-forwarding and switching videos has in boredom, researchers performed two experiments on about 1,200 people, according to the study published Monday in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

In the first trial, the study participants had two viewing experiences. The participants both watched a 10-minute video without the option to switch or fast-forward and then had a 10-minute period where they could switch between seven 5-minute videos, according to the study.

In the second experiment, participants watched a 10-minute video in one round and in the other round were allowed to fast-forward or rewind through a 50-minute video.

Participants predicted they would be less bored with the option to switch or fast-forward for both experiments but reported afterward that they found watching one video all the way through to be more engaging, satisfying and meaningful, according to the study.

“Boredom is closely linked to our attention,” Tam said. “We feel bored when there’s a gap between how engaged we are and how engaged we want to be. When people keep switching through videos, they’re not fully engaging with any one video, and are instead searching for something more interesting.”

The good and the bad of boredom

To understand what you should take away from this study, it’s important to look further into what boredom really is, said Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, an independent research organization. She was not involved in the research.

“A study like this is easy to misinterpret as another mark against digital media, rather than to more usefully understand boredom as a motivational signal,” Rutledge said.

Like anger or sadness, boredom is an unpleasant emotion, and it’s often misunderstood or stigmatized, she said.

“While some people equate boredom with laziness or lack of ambition, it can have both positive and negative effects,” Rutledge said. “Boredom, like all negative emotions, is a signal that motivates us to change what we’re doing. In this sense it is healthy and adaptive.”

If you think of boredom as a shortcoming rather than a motivational tool, you will react to it differently, she added.

Seeing it as a shortcoming may motivate someone to react quickly to engage their attention to feel less frustrated and guilty, Rutledge said.

“The other may encourage me to examine what I’m doing and think about what activities would genuinely be meaningful and rewarding,” she said.

How to stay engaged

If you want to get out of the loop of scrolling through boredom, intentionality is key.

“Take your time before hitting the fast-forward or skip button, and find ways to stay focused while watching videos,” Tam said. “Just as we pay for an immersive experience in a movie theater, enjoyment often comes from engaging with the content rather than swiping through it.”

Knowing there is always more — and potentially better — content online can enhance a fear of missing out and get in the way of “rational appraisal” if you aren’t intentional about how you are viewing the content, Rutledge said.

It’s also important to reflect on what you are trying to avoid when going through the videos — because not everything can be exciting all the time, Tam added.

You shouldn’t feel guilty and ashamed when bored, but you can use it as an opportunity to think about what activities give you meaning and challenge, Rutledge said. Research shows that activities that engage a skill in a challenging but meaningful way gives a better sense of satisfaction than those that just keep you busy or help you relax, she added.

Finally, Rutledge urges people to “Become more mindful of how you use media of all kinds.”

“Pay attention to your moods during media use so that you can identify when a positive experience turns negative — a restorative few minutes watching funny cat videos can turn into a downward spiral of self-doubt,” she added.

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