Why Boredom is Interesting

Is boredom bad? It’s certainly common: most everybody gets bored. There’s a sense that boredom sometimes causes bad things to happen (e.g., substance use, self-harm), and sometimes good things (e.g., daydreaming, creativity), but it’s hard to understand what boredom does, without first understanding what it is. According to the Meaning and Attentional Components (MAC) model of boredom and cognitive engagement, the emotion of boredom signals deficits in attention and meaning. Much like pain, it may not be pleasant, but boredom critically alerts us that we’re unable or unwilling to successfully engage attention in meaningful activities. Whether that’s good or bad rests ultimately on how we respond.