The Death of Boredom

I hate to be another one of those guys but remember the land pre-smart phone? Pre-cell phone even? It’s an odd sort of memory as it’s more akin to remembering how you felt your first day of school than remembering anything specific. There’s a general feeling but in ways it is too subtle yet immersive to be clearly defined.

The big difference for me has been the introduction of omnipotence as a figure in my life. Having immediate access to the collective of humankind is breathtaking. What we do with that is another story but that we have it at all is a bigger deal than we realize. I remember when I got my first smart phone I immediately decided that this was the next stage of human evolution. No longer would I struggle to remember how to get to a destination, the names and lives of our world’s most famous philosophers, necessary math equations, or the like! What a brave new world this would be!

I didn’t realize how quickly knowledge became trivia. Rather than spending my free time immersed in the great works of great men and women I read grammatically questionable quotes superimposed over pictures of cats. I made sure I knew in which other films I’d seen that actor and the goofs on set. I read countless headlines but no stories.

The death of boredom was a helluva thing and I’m not sure we realize the consequences. Personally I can say the death of boredom was also in many ways the death of passion. Boredom was what drove me to seek out and question. The search for the knowledge gave it value, made it a treasure to be had and shared rather than a fleeting image to be forgotten. Rather than scanning headlines for funny pictures and quirky events I wrote. In the deafening clatter of our connected world it’s hard to remember my own voice.

I keep trying to integrate the experience through blogs and the like but I’m terrible at updating because I find that without my voice I have so very little to say. No true reflection is happening. I’ve become a passive participant in my own life. What’s frustrating is how hard I fight this and how often I am failing. We’ve moved to California! We’re at the heart of so much! Every weekend there are movie premiers, hiking trails, kayaking trips, mountain climbs, community festivals, art openings and so much more! I can tell you with both pride and shame that in the last few months I have attended one gallery, gone on one hike, and watched the entirety of Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Bones and several episodes of other shows. It’s not even for enjoyment so much anymore as compulsion. I don’t even give my full attention; I play with my phone and wish I were doing something better.

Maybe that’s the problem. I don’t really give anything my full attention anymore. Not trying to make grand announcement just thinking aloud really. All of this because thought to myself, “You’re kinda addicted to your phone… I wonder if there’s an app for that,” and while I love the irony I’m also frustrated because there was no need to wonder when I could just look. I miss fantasy and open ended debate. Wikipedia you’ve ruined my world.