Exploring the Impact of Boredom Proneness on Real-world and Online Connections.

Boredom is an uncomfortable feeling of wanting but failing to engage with the world. Trait boredom proneness – the tendency to experience boredom more frequently and intensely – is associated with a wide range of mental health concerns including feelings of loneliness and problematic smartphone use. We conducted a comprehensive online survey (N=385) that included a range of psychological scales measuring boredom proneness, mental well-being, and usage of social media sites, smartphones, and the internet writ large. We also included measures of loneliness, the sense of belonging, and life satisfaction. Boredom proneness was positively correlated with higher levels of loneliness (r = 0.32) and negatively associated with the sense of belonging (r=-0.43). In addition, boredom proneness was associated with various metrics of problematic engagement with the internet and social media (including total hours of usage, nomophobia and problematic internet usage). Individual levels of self-control mediated many of these relations These findings suggest that boredom proneness significantly impacts both feelings of connectedness and online engagement behaviours, with implications for understanding the interplay between mental health and the use of technology among young adults.