Technology keeps us constantly stimulated. What do we lose when we no longer have nothing to do?
Three ways boredom can actually be a benefit
A little boredom can be good for you.
For the Love of Boredom
Boredom is prone to myth-making — much like the story of Phineas Gage. This matters. If we believe certain myths about boredom, it could lead us astray in how we respond.
In Favor of Enjoying Things on Purpose
The human being is an enjoyment-seeking creature. There’s a reason people are always trying to restrain themselves from excessive eating, drinking, scrolling, and shoppin...
Idle Skilling
Idle Skilling is the ultimate Idle Game with years of content! Meant to be played for 5-10 minutes a day, you gradually unlock new skills like mining, fishing, pet breeding, crusading, potion-making, lab-research, construction, and more! With new updates coming, you'll never run out of stuff to do!
Erlend Sogge Heggen (@erlend.sh)
1. solitude: single-player game loop 2. bottomlessness: infinite scroll 3. speed: instant delivery/gratification 4. teasing: generally satisfactory, never perfect; “maybe the next one is exactly what I want” ↘️ quoting NPR (@npr.org): Taken together, these four features can create a trancelike state that can keep us stuck on social media apps or video games for hours. Children are particularly vulnerable. n.pr/4mH6i6s
Play is doing its work even if we’re not keeping score | Aeon Essays
We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly. Gamification risks atrophying that most precious capacity
Bored People Quit
Much has been written about employee motivation and retention. It's written by folks who actively use words like motivation and retention and generally don't ha
The rise of Whatever
This was originally titled “I miss when computers were fun”. But in the course of writing it, I discovered that there is a reason computers became less fun, a dark thread woven through a number of events in recent history. Let me back up a bit.
Google Search Is Dying. What Comes Next Is Worse | The Walrus
As AI eats the web, the internet’s collective memory is disappearing
Finding joy in the little things really can benefit your wellbeing – a scientist explains
Enjoying a cup of coffee or performing an act of kindness are some examples of the everyday ‘micro-joys’ that can boost your wellbeing.
You don’t have to enjoy everything - some things aren’t for you | Respec
If that new game announcement has left you feeling cold, so what?
We used to get excited about technology. What happened?
Innovation that truly serves us all is in scarce supply. That’s a problem.
The lost art of concentration: being distracted in a digital world
We check our phones every 12 minutes, often just after waking up. Always-on behaviour is harmful to long-term mental health, and we need to learn to the hit the pause button
A Dusting of Gamification
I had to think for a minute to realize that Stack Overflow has “gamification” too. Not a ton. Maybe a dusting of gamification, most of it around reputation.
Why Your Brain Needs More Downtime
Research on naps, meditation, nature walks and the habits of exceptional artists and athletes reveals how mental breaks increase productivity, replenish attention, solidify memories and encourage creativity
