The Decline of Boredom
Boredom has acquired a thoroughly bad reputation. We treat it as an enemy to be defeated, reaching for our phones the instant a queue forms or a conversation pauses. Yet some psychologists now argue that in our eagerness to banish boredom, we may be discarding something genuinely valuable.
For most of human history, idle moments were simply unavoidable. Waiting for a kettle to boil or staring out of a train window left the mind free to wander, and it is precisely during such wandering that the brain often makes its most creative connections. Many writers and scientists have described how their best ideas arrived not at a desk but in a bath or on a quiet walk.
Today, however, the smallest gap in our day is immediately filled by a glowing screen. The result, critics suggest, is a population that has forgotten how to be alone with its own thoughts. If every spare second is occupied, the mind never gets the chance to reflect, to plan, or to simply daydream.
This does not mean that boredom is always pleasant or productive. Prolonged, unwanted boredom can be genuinely distressing. The point is rather one of balance. A life with no empty space at all may be just as impoverished as one with too much.
Perhaps, then, we should learn to tolerate the occasional dull moment instead of fleeing from it. Resisting the urge to grab our phones might feel uncomfortable at first, but the reward could be a richer inner life — and, ironically, a more interesting one.
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- 1
What is the main argument of the passage?
- 2
What can be inferred from the examples of writers and scientists?
- 3
The phrase 'forgotten how to be alone with its own thoughts' implies that people:
- 4
The writer believes that any amount of boredom is good for us.
- 5
The writer suggests that resisting the urge to use a phone may improve our inner life.
- 6
Which ideas does the writer express in the text? (Choose all that apply.)
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- In Praise of Boredom — Прочитайте текст і виконайте завдання. · Boredom has acquired a thoroughly bad reputation. We treat it as an enemy to be defeated, reaching for our phones the instant a queue forms or a conversation pauses. Yet some psychologists now argue that in our eagerness to banish boredom, we may be discarding something genuinely valuable. For most of human history, idle moments were simply unavoidable. Waiting for a kettle to boil or staring out of a train window left the mind free to wander, and it is precisely during such wandering that the brain often makes its most creative connections. Many writers and scientists have described how their best ideas arrived not at a desk but in a bath or on a quiet walk. Today, however, the smallest gap in our day is immediately filled by a glowing screen. The result, critics suggest, is a population that has **forgotten how to be alone with its own thoughts**. If every spare second is occupied, the mind never gets the chance to reflect, to plan, or to simply daydream. This does not mean that boredom is always pleasant or productive. Prolonged, unwanted boredom can be genuinely distressing. The point is rather one of balance. A life with no empty space at all may be just as impoverished as one with too much. Perhaps, then, we should learn to tolerate the occasional dull moment instead of fleeing from it. Resisting the urge to grab our phones might feel uncomfortable at first, but the reward could be a richer inner life — and, ironically, a more interesting one.