When I think of Social Media, the first thing I think of is seeing a bunch of photos or videos posted by the people I know or some celebrities. This envisioning of Social Media isn’t too far off, of course when logging onto a platform like TikTok or Instagram this interaction between mutuals is heavily pushed. But my main point is that this isn’t what the majority of Social Media usage looks like. It’s diving headlong into hours of easy stimulation with practically no meaning behind it whatsoever, and when it does it typically isn’t positive.
That’s the biggest reason why Social Media is damaging (at least for me). It takes the brain on a vacation so easily accessible. When this happens it becomes hard for the brain to see why it should do something boring, something that takes longer to realize stimulation.
In the first place it had been hard for me to focus on tasks like school work, studying or the hobbies that I enjoy because I always tried to do something perfectly because of my OCD and attention issues. (They’re why these articles end up being much longer than they have to be) When that was paired with the ability for me to find the satisfaction from watching loads and loads of short videos it became virtually impossible, at least in my mind, to put my entire attention into anything as I had before. For this reason I am writing this article, for the people who can’t get through tasks like the me who was crushed by the weight of boredom the second I tried to do something that was considered boring.
‘Just wanted to share some tips on how to overcome this boredom. First and foremost don’t use the sections of social media sites that give that easy stimulation through short videos. (e.g. TikTok, Shorts, Reels, and that thing on Disney+ that I’m pretty sure nobody uses) If there’s an activity or task that needs to be done, opt for something that provides less stimulation on the way back home or on arrival so that it’s easier to slip into needs to be done. If there’s nothing to do on the way back home or following the time that the activity is done I often choose to just stare into space and think, this is where I get a lot of good ideas as a bonus. Some other ways to prepare to endure boredom from tasks is to do meditation or find some other easy to pick up hobby that helps. For me, I like to do Sudoku puzzles. I know, very lame but it checks all the boxes for me. Two last ways I’d like to mention are stretching and exercise. These two can help maintain the mode that gets things done as well as improving one’s fitness. When I started applying these methods I saw that my ability to withstand boring assignments and work had been greatly enhanced.
Last point, If it feels like you’re overwhelmed by boredom don’t try to force it off of you, just try remembering what’ll happen if you don’t do what you want or need to do because the prior method will likely end up tiring you out whilst this way can wake up and invigorate your brain. I hope whoever reads this can pull some value out of it and good luck on whatever you’re working on or aspiring to do.
