The Psychology of Boredom.

No one likes to be bored. We avoid boredom at all costs. It makes us feel restless and agitated. Desperate for something to do, we play games on our phones, retie our shoes, or even count ceiling tiles. And if we escape it this time, eventually it will strike again. But what if we listened to boredom instead of banishing it?

We figured after five weeks of lockdown, it was time to bring in the experts so we're so pleased to have two leading psychologists, James Danckert and John Eastwood explaining why boredom isn’t bad for us - it’s just that we do a bad job of heeding its guidance.

When we’re bored, our minds are telling us that whatever we are doing isn’t working—we’re failing to satisfy our basic psychological need to be engaged and effective. Too many of us respond poorly. We become prone to accidents, risky activities, loneliness, and ennui, and we waste ever more time on technological distractions. But, James and argue, we can let boredom have the opposite effect, motivating the change we need. The latest research suggests that an adaptive approach to boredom will help us avoid its troubling effects and, through its reminder to become aware and involved, might lead us to live fuller lives.

They'll be combining their scientific findings with everyday observations to explain an experience we’d like to ignore, but from which we have a lot to learn. Boredom evolved to help us. It’s time we gave it a chance.

John and James will be in conversation with Salon London's Helen Bagnall before we open up to your questions - LIVE.

This is part of Salon Lockdown, our series of Big Ideas broadcast LIVE - open to all, bringing ideas to us to help with lockdown.

If you would like to support, please pre-order their book, Out of My Skull below or make a suggested £5 donation to help keep our speakers in cake. Alternatively, become a member and get unlimited access to all Salon events, live and on-line, across the year.