WHEN THE MIND WANDERS, THE ALGORITHM ANSWERS: EXPLORING THE MALADAPTIVE RESPONSES TO STATE BOREDOM IN THE ATTENTION ECONOMY

Abstract

Boredom, while seemingly mundane, is a propeller to action. Previous research has focused on the productive lens of said action, enabling individuals to escape the monotonous nature of the emotion by engaging in meaningful activities. However, in the modern technology-driven society, the prevalence of the dopamine feedback loop created through social media platforms has led to an increase in hedonic rather than eudemonic experience-seeking (Maci̇t et al., 2018). This has translated to maladaptive responses to state boredom due to the tendency to alleviate boredom through instant gratification. Subsequently, an adverse impact on psychological and physiological health is imminent due to the impulsive nature of the activities including but not limited to increased social media use, overeating, and risk-seeking behaviour (Crockett et al., 2015; Kılıç et al., 2019). This review amalgamated literature from secondary resources such as online databases (Sage Journals, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library) to compile comprehensive overview to address the gap in the literature on studies regarding the emotion’s realized impact. Further research through empirical studies could provide measures to counter the effect of the maladaptive responses and create interventions for varied demographics to promote productive coping strategies.