Assembly Special: Being Bored

How being bored is good for us and forces us to be creative.

This assembly piggy-backed on the #unplugged campaign calling for people to come away from technology to appreciate the world around them. It also served as a sequel to a previous assembly on Hygge and being in the moment (see later blog).

What does it mean to live in a society where we are always connect?

Who are we connected to?

Exploring the world of social media and what people choose to post and the version of their world that we are presented with. This came at a time of the BeReal trend and looked at how orchestrated even these posts could be.

This led on to looking at the world of online gaming, where we can challenge 'friends' who we only know as BlueSquirrel42 (not a real game player that I know of).

Are we passively living in a virtual world?

I confessed that I spent minutes that added up to hours playing on the Two Dots game and had reached Level 948 with an array of trophies and achievements. None of which mattered in the real world. (Except a student did come to me at the end and tell me that their mum was obsessed with the game and would be impressed.)

Do our achievements really have an impact on the world and make a real difference?

We live in a fast paced society where things are available instantly.  This has great benefits. Our devises have become an integral part of our ‘down time’. Every moment becomes filled with something. This is why we feel lost without our devises.​

The point of the assembly is that boredom is good for us. Boredom is a meaningful experience​ - one that propels us to states of deeper thoughtfulness or creativity.

These days we don’t wrestle with these slow moments.​ We try to eliminate them. Using your phone when you’re bored is like eating junk food.​ It satisfies the hunger but it isn’t nutritious. Allowing yourself to be bored puts you in an uncomfortable position and forces you to be creative.​ Your imagination is sparked.​ That’s when the magic happens!

If you would like a copy of the PowerPoint that accompanies this assembly, please contact me via my LinkedIn page www.linkedin.com/in/pgjohn