When boredom strikes, many find themselves reaching for their smartphones for a video fix. However, swiping through online videos to stave off boredom may leave you feeling even less satisfied, according to new research from the American Psychological Association.
“While people fast forward or skip videos to avoid boredom, paradoxically, this behavior actually makes them feel more bored,” lead author Katy Tam, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto, told The Epoch Times.
The study, published on Aug. 19 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, reveals that constantly swiping between short video snippets or fast-forwarding through them can create a cycle of seeking immediate gratification that perpetuates boredom.
“If we keep pushing up our desire, always wanting something more interesting or exciting, then we would always find content boring,“ said Tam.
How Switching Disrupts Satisfaction
Boredom often leaves people feeling restless and unfulfilled, driving them to seek quick distractions to alleviate their dissatisfaction.To explore how this urge to escape boredom affects digital behavior and emotions, researchers analyzed the digital switching behaviors of over 1,200 participants from the United States and students from the University of Toronto.
Participants were initially shown two types of videos: one set that was engaging, and another that was dull. Researchers found that participants were more likely to fast-forward and switch videos when the content was uninteresting.
Participants anticipated that they would feel more bored if they couldn’t switch to the next video if they were bored by the current video. However, the results were counterintuitive: participants felt more bored when they had the option to switch; when they watched a continuous 10-minute video they were more satisfied and engaged.
“Switching behavior makes people feel more bored, less satisfied, less engaged, and less meaningful in some instances,” wrote Tam and co-author Michael Inzlicht, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. Constant switching interrupts content flow, reducing overall engagement and satisfaction, they found.
Switching between videos is “actually task-switching, and increases arousal levels,” Dr. Victoria Dunckley, a psychiatrist and screen time expert, told The Epoch Times in an email. “If done repeatedly it leads to chronic hyperarousal.”
This chronic hyperarousal disrupts the brain’s reward systems and contributes to feelings of boredom and dissatisfaction. In her book, Reset Your Child’s Brain, Dunckley emphasizes that the brain can become addicted to increasingly intense stimuli from digital media causing a cycle where natural stimulation becomes less exciting or enjoyable.
“It’s really an addiction cycle, causing the brain to seek ever-more intense stimuli,” she wrote in her email, noting that this can make moments of boredom feel particularly challenging, as the brain struggles to adjust to lower levels of stimulation.
Further experiments confirmed that the ability to switch or control video playback led to increased boredom.
Participants reported higher levels of boredom and dissatisfaction when allowed to control playback compared to watching uninterrupted content.
“Switching disturbs the content and flow of video(s),” Tam and Inzlich wrote. “When participants engaged in digital switching, they were unable to fully immerse themselves in the current content and make meaning of it, as evidenced by lower attention and lower meaning.”
Embracing Boredom
Tam said that persistent feelings of boredom are linked to negative effects on mental health, such as depression and anxiety.Chronic boredom is also associated with problematic behaviors, including pathological gambling and drug abuse. Those who frequently experience boredom often show higher levels of disengagement from work or school and dissatisfaction in relationships.
Yet, boredom can also serve as a catalyst for exploring new activities and experiences. For a more fulfilling experience when watching videos, Tam suggested that boredom might be a signal to engage more deeply.
“Stay focused on the content and minimize digital switching,” she advises. “For thoughts to develop or for a story to build up, it takes time. It wouldn’t be interesting or exciting every second.”
Dunckley supports this idea by highlighting that “boredom serves a purpose.”
The role of boredom in personal growth is a critical but often overlooked aspect of well-being, concurs author and psychotherapist Thomas Kersting, who is also an expert on the impact of screen time on mental health. In his recent book, Raising Healthy Teenagers, he describes boredom as “the Miracle Grow for the mind and the emotions,” underscoring its essential role in fostering deeper self-awareness and emotional resilience.
As society becomes increasingly absorbed in constant digital stimulation, understanding and embracing boredom can offer profound insights and contribute to our overall mental health, Kersting told The Epoch Times.
“All of the content—whether it’s gaming, YouTube videos, or other digital media—is intentionally designed to target the pleasure-seeking part of the brain that produces dopamine,” he said. This relentless bombardment of dopamine-driven stimuli can create an addiction-like effect, leading to what he describes as a withdrawal when faced with boredom.
Rather than filling every idle moment with high-dopamine distractions, he says that embracing boredom provides a valuable opportunity to pause and reflect. This space for introspection allows us to reconnect with ourselves and engage more deeply with our thoughts and emotions.
He suggests that by resisting the urge to constantly seek out new stimuli, we can cultivate a sense of inner stillness and gain greater control over our mental processes. This practice, says Kersting, not only helps in managing our thoughts and emotions but also fosters creativity and self-awareness.
“Instead of chasing endless distractions, embracing moments of boredom might lead us to more meaningful and satisfying experiences,” Tam added. She also noted that further research should examine how age impacts digital switching behaviors and boredom.
