Put down your phone and engage in boredom – how philosophy can help with digital overload (theconversation.com)

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[The philosopher Martin] Heidegger feared that under the dominance of technology, humanity might lose its capacity to relate to “being itself”. This “forgetting of being” is not merely an intellectual error but an existential poverty.

Today, it can be seen as the loss of depth — the eclipse of boredom, the erosion of interiority, the disappearance of silence. Where there is no boredom, there can be no reflection. Where there is no pause, there can be no real choice.

Heidegger’s “forgetting of being” now manifests as the loss of boredom itself. What we forfeit is the capacity for sustained reflection.

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[-] karashta@piefed.social 2 points 14 hours ago

"Where there is no boredom there can be no reflection". Going to disagree with this. I burn my hand on a hot stove, I reflect upon that and I'm sure not bored.

I find that a lot of the reflection in my life comes from similar things. Engagement with a good book, coming across a problem I've never seen before, interacting with new people in new social situations. Things I engage with that also throw me back to myself... All things that make me reflect that aren't boredom.

I'm not disagreeing there is value in boredom. I feel like a lot of my creativity comes from having been bored while young (as well as it being actively encouraged by teachers). Just disagreeing that boredom is the only reason anyone reflects deeply.

this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2025

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