You’re clocking into the middle of fifth period on a bland Wednesday noon. The teacher is reviewing course material from a previous lesson in a sea of black boxes on your computer screen. Five minutes into class, you’re probably still paying attention. Forty minutes in, you’re completely zoned out. At this point, you begin to glance at the time or reach for your phone as a temporary distraction. Sixty minutes in, the teacher’s words sound like a monotonous jumble of words. Wait, what did he say about the quiz next Tuesday? The itching sensation of boredom begins to feel unbearable. By the end of your eighty-minute class, you are officially… bored to death. Now rinse and repeat about 450 times- and don’t forget to mix in those all-nighters and 11:59PM due dates! That’s one semester completed and another one to go!
Let’s face it: online school is boring. Agonizingly boring. Staring at your computer screen listening to tiny people talk for hours on end can make you mentally drained. Unsurprisingly, it’s a nationwide phenomenon. In a national survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, 71% of kids aged 10 to 17 reported that they were feeling bored in online class. In California alone, eight in ten parents say that they are concerned about their child feeling bored during online learning, according to a statewide poll conducted by The Education Trust. Boredom among students in this online learning era is also reflected in social media. Searching up the hashtag “online learning” or “online class” on Tiktok, a popular media platform, will give hundreds of videos about students’ struggles with motivation in online classes. For example, a creator that goes by, @ramynotrami does a skit about his difficulty with staying motivated in class while his teachers offer little help. Another creator, @jules.vin0 does a similar skit illustrating the realities and expectations of keeping up with grades in online learning.
With the majority of the student population bored with online learning, mental health becomes a prominent issue. While boredom can’t kill you (as in the phrase “bored to death” ), long-term boredom can kill your happiness. Psychologist John Eastwood PhD. in a paper by the American Psychological Association says, “When people are bored, they’re disengaged from satisfying activity and more likely to become internally focused in a negative, ruminative cycle.” A survey conducted by James Danckert PhD. in the same paper also found a strong correlation between boredom and depression. However, they should not be regarded as the same condition. “Chronic boredom can look a lot like depression, [but] they’re not the same emotional experience,” Danckert says.
Let’s face it: online school is boring. Agonizingly boring. Staring at your computer screen listening to tiny people talk for hours on end can make you mentally drained.
Although boredom and depression aren’t the same condition, the similarities between them make widespread boredom in online learning a cause for concern. With the majority of our student population being unmotivated and unhappy, we’re facing a new pandemic in addition to COVID-19: boredom. As James Logan High School students, it is up to us to help alleviate this widespread boredom caused by online learning.
Step 1: Retain a sense of normalcy.
The first step to overcoming any obstacle is to realize that it can be overcome like all problems in daily life. By acknowledging that your boredom is a normal response to being mentally understimulated, you can find the root of its cause and solve it.
Step 2: Address the problem
Nip the root cause of your boredom. If you feel unmotivated in class because each day feels the same or the indoor environment seems cramped, try to pursue a new hobby or exercise outside while socially distanced in your spare time. If a crowded to-do list of assignments is making you bored, try to restructure your schedule into blocks with gaps in between for breaks. If all else fails, spend some time self-reflecting and find your own way to stay motivated. Here’s a list of 15 other ways to combat boredom.
Step 3: Self-Care
Although it’s important to get all your assignments done on time and study for upcoming tests, doing it while neglecting your personal needs can take a physical toll and bring you back into a cycle of boredom. Dedicate time to maintaining your personal hygiene, getting ample sleep, and safely socializing with friends and family.
We students are facing two deadly pandemics: COVID-19 and Boredom. If left to fester, both can make you unhealthy and unmotivated. Although it takes the entire world to suppress COVID-19, it only takes one person to suppress boredom. By recognizing where that boredom stems from and taking initiative to combat it, we can make online learning a less monotonous experience.
