German radio show: “Der Tag”, by the hr media group: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/der-tag/oede-aber-fruchtbar-die-vergessene-schoenheit-der-langeweile/hr/13582841/

German podcast: “My challenge”, by the WDR media group: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/meine-challenge/langeweile-aushalten/mdr/13175901/

How do captive animals really feel, and can we make them happier?

New Scientist.

Rhodri Marsden, ‘What Makes us Bored?’ (iNews)

Dr Tina Kendall, an associate professor at Anglia Ruskin University, set up the Boredom-19 Project in the summer of 2020 to get young people to talk about and document their experience of boredom.

German science podcast: “Der Achte Tag”, by the media group The Pioneer: https://www.thepioneer.de/originals/der-achte-tag/podcasts/was-passiert-bei-langeweile-in-unserem-gehirn

The paper Boredom Increases Impulsiveness was mentioned, among other parts of Moyiniham’s work, in the article «Five ways boredom could be changing your behaviour, for better or worse», at Dhaka Tribune. 

It was previously published at QRIUS, on 21 Feb. 2021, and at MedicalXpress, on 25 Feb. 2021, to name a few media (see e.g.,  Yahoo News, Foreign Affairs, The Conversation). 

Ros Velasco, Sommer, and Abarca’s paper «Bored: A Pandemic of Domestic Violence«, published in Partner Abuse is explained by Unidad de Cultura Científica y de la Innovación, Oficina de Transferencia de Resultados de Investigación (OTRI), Universidad Complutense de Madrid‘s article “Diseñan una plataforma online como sistema de prevención de violencia de género”. 

Nina Jacobshagen interviewed Wanja Wolff for Das Online-Magazin der Universität Bern. 

Read «Langeweile?«. 

The project MUTUAL COVID talks about the interview at CBC Radio Canada in which Ros Velasco took part:

Here the article ➡️ “Josefa Ros, entrevistada en CBC-Radio Canada sobre aburrimiento y COVID-19”

Here the interview ➡️ «Pandemic Boredom Research is Thrilling«

Natasha Preskey ‘The Groundhog Year: This is What 12 Months of Monotony Has Done to Your Brain’. Independent.

Endurance Innovation Podcast presents Boredom and Willpower with Drs. Wanja Wolff and James Danckert. 

Dr. Wanja Wolff and Prof. James Danckert are on the show to cover the surprisingly interesting topic of boredom – and willpower too – as it pertains to endurance sport performance.

DW interviewed Wanja Wolff on the couple «boredom» and «pandemics». Listen to the interview here! 

I’m soooo bored!: ‘Why is boredom so tiring?’, ‘Why can’t I find something to do?’ Turns out boredom science is fascinating!, by KATIE HAYLOR.

Julian Haladyn in The Naked Scientist. 

A 2019 study in Behavioral Decision Making by social psychologist Wijnand Van Tilburg is mentioned in ScienceNews. See more here: In the social distancing era, boredom may pose a public health threat. 

“Usually boredom tells you that you should do something else,” says sports psychologist Wanja Wolff of the University of Konstanz in Germany.

Read the article by Sujata Gupta in ScienceNews now!

The Natasha Hall Show on «Depressed or bored? How COVID-boredom intensifies FOMO«, by Julian Haladyn! 

Shayla Love (VICE Magazine) wrote «How to Deal with Boredom”, an article in which Ros Velasco was mentioned:

“Over the decades,the trend was to explain boredom as a bad thing because of the bad reactions to get rid of it,” Ros Velasco said. “Now, everybody is writing about ‘the benefits of boredom’ because it supposedly makes us more creative.»

What can different cultures teach about boredom?

Yasmine Musharbash, head of anthropology at the Australian National University, says boredom started as a specifically Western feeling. Scholars refer to “modern boredom” as the type that came into being around the Industrial Revolution. 

OLIVIA TARANTINO wrote «10 Everyday Habits With Major Health Benefits, Backed by Science» for Eat this, not that! and found inspiration in «Eaten up by boredom«: 

«Whether you enjoy nature photography, knitting, reading, sketching, whittling, quilting, hiking, puzzles, or even writing poetry, you’ve already developed a tool that will help you fight boredom-driven food urges.»

Marina de la Cruz, journalist at Agencia EFE, interviewed and wrote about Josefa Ros’ work on boredom and the elderly in pandemic times. Read «Para muchos mayores lo peor de la pandemia ha sido el aburrimiento» here. 

“El devaneo mental es necesario: aburrirse ayuda a la creatividad y la salud mental”, by Alberto García Palomo, El País (Ideas). He mentioned some ideas on the history of boredom by Josefa Ros. Read the article here!

«While it’s difficult to pinpoint the extent to which boredom levels are increasing over lockdown, Wijnand Van Tilburg, a social psychologist from the University of Essex, thinks it’s “very likely” to have.» 

Alice Hall picks up Wijnand Van Tilburg’s voice on «boreout» in Forget burnout- here’s why you might have ‘boreout’ for THE TELEGRAPH.

“Boredom is an emotional signal that makes people very aware that in their current situation there is a lack of purpose,” the social psychologist Wijnand Van Tilburg told me when I interviewed him for my book about boredom. Van Tilburg is in The Atlantic.

Josefa Ros Velasco, doctora por la Universidad Complutense, considera que, en circunstancias normales, es difícil diagnosticar un trastorno con base en el aburrimiento y prefiere pensar que el letargo mal llevado obedece «al contexto de la persona que lo siente».

 Javier Nieto Remolina cites Josefa Ros in “Cómo gestionar el aburrimiento”, Agencia EFE. 

Moyniham’s work on boredom and food consumption is mentioned by JAIMEE BELL:

«Being bored affectively marks an appraised lack of meaning in the present situation and in life,» according to the researchers of this study. «Boredom increases eating in an attempt to distract from this experience, especially among people high in self-awareness.»

See this article at Big Think. 

Moyniham’s work on boredom and food consumption is quoted in «How to stave off cravings and a few healthy recipes that’ll help you temporarily forget about junk food», by BUSINESS INSIDER.  

Fernando Díez Ruiz is talking of Moyniham’s work on boredom and food in «Pros y contras de la rutina en confinamiento«, The Conversation. 

The paper «Eaten up by boredom: consuming food to escape awareness of the bored self» is used by Medical News Today to explain the causes why we gain wight during quarantine. 

«Quarantine restrictions may also result in people experiencing boredom, which may cause them to overeat.»

Erin C. Westgate, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Florida, wrote «6 things you can do to cope with boredom at a time of social distancing«, an article in which she mentioned Moyniham‘s work «Eaten up by boredom». 

«Other behaviors linked to greater susceptibility to boredom include increased alcohol intake and marijuana use. Boredom is also tied to unhealthy snacking and online pornography.«

You can find this also at AsiaOne, Inverse, The National Interest, Rawstory).

n-tv interviews Silke Ohlmeier with regard to her work on boredom. Listen the interview here (German). 

Our new member Andrea Matošević, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (Croatia), was interviewed by Zoran ANGELESKI last year, when he published his book ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE BORED IN PULA. 

Read the interview here. 

«A BOOK ABOUT THE PULA PHENOMENON Pula and the feeling of boredom through the 20th, but obviously also through the 21st century, walk embraced. TAPIJA FOR INDIVIDUALS WAS TAKEN INTO THE METAPHOR OF THE CITY». 

Denise Fernholz mentioned Olhmeier’s work in «Ich habe versucht, zwölf Stunden nichts zu tun – es hätte mich fast wahnsinnig gemacht» (Stern). 

«5 Microsteps to Keep You Healthy if You Have a Desk Job» says that «providing your own healthy options to munch on all day keeps you from eating whatever’s in the kitchen out of boredom«, following Moyniham’s work. See Thrive Global.

You can see some other similar publications inspired by Moyniham’s words, published also at Thrive Global, here:

– How to Snack Healthily at Work
– Here’s Why Stress Eating Happens, and How to Stop It

José María Robles, journalist at Revista Papel (El Mundo), mentions Josefa Ros’ ideas on boredom in the article “Los beneficios secretos del aburrimiento: te vuelve más inteligente y creativo”. 

S’ennuyer en réunion : bénédiction ou malédiction ?

https://knowledge.em-lyon.com/2018/05/31/sennuyer-reunion-benediction-malediction/

Eric W. Dolan writes «Study: Religious people are less likely to get bored — which makes them less inclined to search for meaning» for PSYPOST, an article focused on Van Tilburg et al.’s work «Bored like Hell: Religiosity reduces boredom and tempers the quest for meaning» (Emotion). 

INSIDERS publishes «23 simple things you can do to stop overeating«, an article that highlights that «Depression and boredom are two common issues that have been linked to the urge to overeat,» according to Moyniham‘s words. 

Anthropology Is Boring: Bring Other Books SIMON THEOBALD

Boredom in various definitions and iterations has been has been written about extensively by Craig Jefferey in his book Timepass, by Bruce O’Neill working in Romania, and by Yasmine Musharbash in Yuendumu, the latter of whom argued forcefully that boredom was not just a product of European history and the 18th and 19th century increase in leisure time as a result of the industrial revolution.

Read more. 

The THELEGRAPH publishes «‘Doctor’s Diary: Bored to death’ in which our member Lizzie is mentioned regarding her Anti-boredom Campaign. 

Tom Whipple, Science Editor of THE TIMES, wrote on Origami, an initiative by Lizzie Burns to  «beat hospital tedium«. 

Don’t miss this article by Diane Peters, a Toronto-based writer and editor, in which Gardiner’s co-edited book Boredom Studies Reader is mentioned:

«This past October, Dr. Haladyn and Dr. Gardiner published Boredom Studies Reader: Frameworks and Perspectives, an anthology packed with the who’s who of boredom studies theorists. In their introduction, the editors write that “the study of boredom is a vital avenue of research” and should be considered a valid field of study.»

Michael E. Gardiner was interviewed by Diane Peters from the University Affairs Department of the University of Western Ontario.

First question:

Read the interview here!

Is there such a thing as ‘bore out’?

The BBC is talking of Van Tilburg’s works: «Wijnand van Tilburg, assistant professor in psychology at King’s College London, says «bore-out» is not a recognised condition in psychology, though the idea that boredom can lead to intense suffering is not new – he quotes German psychologist Erich Fromm who imagined hell as «the place where you were continually bored».»

Did boredom fuel Donald Trump’s presidential campaign?

Jen Christensen, CNN, pays attention to Van Tilburg’s account on boredom and its functionality.

«Boredom is unpleasant, there is no denying it,» said Wijnand A.P. van Tilburg, a lecturer at King’s College London and one of the study’s authors. «But it can also be functional, like anger can be helpful or fear which can motivate people to change their circumstances. It can be good and bad. We wanted to better understand what function does boredom serve in this circumstance.»

«Boredom may be contributing to a widening of political views among voters, according to a new study by researchers from King’s College London and the University of Limerick».

ScienceDaily gives news of the publication «Going to political extremes in response to boredom». European Journal of Social Psychology. 

Even Astronauts Get The Blues: Or Why Boredom Drives Us Nuts

NPR mentions Van Tilburg and Igou work on boredom and nostalgia: «Wijnand van Tilburg and Eric Igo at the University of Limerick, found boredom increases our feelings of nostalgia when we reflect on the past».