Boredom, like uncertainty, is uncomfortable.
That doesn’t stop Arthur Brookes, Harvard professor and best-selling author, from making a bold claim:
You need to be bored. You will have less meaning and you will be more depressed if you never are bored.
Pointing to the constant access to information and communication, Brookes claims that we have cut ourselves off from the Default Mode Network (DMN), a set of structures and circuits in the human brain that become active when we are not “cognitively engaged” with external stimuli or tasks.
The DMN was identified some twenty years ago, and its discovery revolutionized our understanding of how the brain works. In a review paper from 2023, Stanford researchers Vinod Menon and Wu Tsai offer a history of its discovery, how probing its activity changed our understanding of cognition, and most importantly, how its workings shape a sense of self.
When we are bored DMN activity increases. Through dynamic interactions with multiple brain circuits, one of its accomplishments is the creation of “an internal narrative.” The ongoing internal dialogue allows us to construct a sense of self and determines how we interact with others. Any disruption of the process can render us susceptible to losing a sense of self. This loss can be disastrous. Why? The ”individual self” gives us self-awareness of thoughts, emotions, and actions. The significance of self-knowledge as a key to behavior change, for example, is undisputed. The “social self” allows for perspective taking, forming relationships, and guides behavior in social interactions. Since perspective taking is a key part of compassion, might a loss of self explain why there are multiple books and blogs focused on reviving the “lost art of compassion?”
Essentially, then, the Default Mode Network plays a crucial role in what it means to be human. So Brookes is justified in his concern. Why would we want to shut that down?
Unfortunately, one of the troubles with being human is that we tend to avoid what makes us uncomfortable, even when it is good for us.
When the DMN gets activated, our mind wanders, and the big, uncomfortable existential questions bubble to the surface. What meaning does my life have? Do I have a purpose?
These sorts of questions can make us feel anxious and fearful. Apparently, it makes us uncomfortable enough that we would rather do something negative than be left with our own thoughts. According to a 2014 paper co-authored by one of Brookes’ Harvard colleagues, Daniel Gilbert, when asked to sit in an undecorated room and entertain themselves with their own thoughts, in one test, many participants actually chose to self-administer an electric shock rather than do “nothing.”:
In 11 studies, we found that participants typically did not enjoy spending 6 to 15 minutes in a room by themselves with nothing to do but think, that they enjoyed doing mundane external activities much more, and that many preferred to administer electric shocks to themselves instead of being left alone with their thoughts. Most people seem to prefer to be doing something rather than nothing, even if that something is negative.
Arthur Brookes suggests that our anxiety and depression will decrease–and our creative ideas may actually increase– if we adopt three simple practices. First, do not use any device after 7 pm (maybe you can set your own time?). Second–many may already do this–no devices at dinnertime. And last, during the day, “fast” from social media and your screens. Challenge your comfort zone by increasing the length over time. Brookes practices what he preaches and finds he is better for it.
Let the Default Mode Network become active in your life again. Be bored. Be human
Unique among the species, we have the ability to sit and mentally detach ourselves from our surroundings and travel inward, recalling the past, envisioning the future, and imagining worlds that have never existed. —Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind