Why has 'boredom' become such a villain? — On zapping culture, social media, AI recommendations, and agency

(Approx. 1550 characters)

Why has 'boredom' become so avoided?

When the zapping culture of television spread,
there was a freedom in it: 'If you get bored, you can switch.'
Not bound by program schedules, you could move on to the next if you didn't like it.
I believe that was indeed an act of reclaiming agency for the viewer.

However, at the same time,
we gradually acquired a certain sense.

• You don't have to stay in a boring state

• You don't have to wait

• You don't have to linger in confusion

Waiting, enduring,
spending a little time with something you don't quite understand.
Such time gradually came to be seen as 'wasteful' or 'inefficient'.

Such values became the norm before we knew it.

What did social media and AI recommendations make 'convenient'?

Social media, video streaming services,
and AI-driven recommendations
have further strengthened this trend.

When you open the screen,
what you 'should watch next' is already prepared.

• You don't have to search

• You don't have to get lost

• The probability of missing out is low

This 'convenience of not having to think' is certainly attractive.
It saves time and effort,
and access to learning and entertainment has improved dramatically.

However, there is something happening behind the scenes.

While it seems like there are many choices,
in reality,'what has been chosen'is what we receive.
The more we get used to that structure,
the less room there is to stop and think.

Are we truly 'choosing for ourselves'?

Zapping, social media, and AI recommendations all
create a very clever 'sense of choice'.

• Switching channels

• Skipping videos

• Tapping one of the recommendations

These are all your own actions.
That is precisely whyit is easy to feel 'in control'.

However, looking at it calmly,
in many cases,

it could be said.

Decisions that truly require agency—
'Whether to watch at all,' 'Whether to stop here,' 'Whether to do nothing today'
such questions
tend to be placed outside the system.

Rather than agency being stolen,
an environment where you don't need to use agency to get bymay have
been perfected.

Why does it become harder to be satisfied as stimulation increases?

You get used to stimulation.
There are almost no exceptions to this, whether in emotions or entertainment.

When surrounded by strong stimulation,

• things you used to enjoy become unsatisfying

• quiet experiences start to feel boring

• you become unable to wait for things that get better gradually

such changes become more likely to occur.

As a result,

This creates a state where...

Even though the quantity is increasing,
only the 'sense of savoring' is decreasing.
It is such a paradoxical phenomenon.

Is it a problem with technology, or is it our own attitude?

Reading this far,
zapping culture, social media, and AI recommendations
might seem like dangerous entities.

However, the benefits they have brought are also certain.

• Increased chance encounters

• The world has expanded

• Learning and discovery have accelerated

Therefore, the problem
does not seem to be the technology itself.

What is important is the

• how much to delegate

• where to stop

• where to take it back for yourself

sense of distance.

Summary

A society that does not allow for boring moments
has a comfortable, efficient, and kind face.

But at the same time,
it also carries the danger of thinning out our sensitivity and agency
without us even realizing it.

Whether it is zapping, social media, or AI recommendations,
what separates using them from being used by them
is just a small difference in attitude.

The accumulation of those choices
might be quietly shaping our 'ability to think' and 'ability to savor'.

Strawberry Dog🐶

#Boredom #Agency #CriticalThinking #ZappingCulture #SocialMediaFatigue #AIEra #Recommendations #Choice #InformationSociety #PhilosophicalThinking #CasualPhilosophy #LivingWithSpace

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