Boredom Pg.
1
Name: Emma Doering
Block: 8th and 9th
On-Demand Writing Directions: Carefully read the prompt below. Then read the
provided texts. Enter your essay in the space provided.
Boredom On-Demand
Write a well-organized essay arguing whether boredom is good for you. Support your
argument with evidence from the texts.
Type Here:
“Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of
his liberty - his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely
philosophically, but almost with pleasure.” –Aldous Huxley. In our eighth-grade language
arts class, we have been debating on whether or not we should be bored. Well, People
shouldn’t be bored because it can lead to mental illnesses, no enjoyment, and all types
of harmful things.
To begin with, people can develop mental illnesses because of boredom. In the
article Boredom’s link to mental illnesses, brain injuries and dysfunctional behaviors by
Meeri Kim says, “Research on human prisoners in solitary confinement suggests that
long-term boredom quickly advances into apathy, depression, cognitive disturbances,
hallucinations and psychosis.” Depression is the number one illness that leads to
suicide. Apathy can be a symptom of depression. Also, Meeri Kim states, “Levels of
self-harm and suicide, already much higher among prisoners than in the general
population, increase even further for individuals placed in isolation.” All because they're
bored they want, or the feeling, to harm something grows strong. When put in isolation
the risks of all those mental illnesses go up. Thus mental illnesses could be caused by
boredom.
Furthermore, there is no enjoyment in being bored. In the article Is Bordem That
Bad by Mackenzie Carro she says, “It’s not that kids in the past enjoyed boredom. It
was often considered a bad thing, just as it is today. (Ever heard the expression “bored
to death”?)” When someone is bored they are not happy they are sad, lonely, unhappy,
or depressed but never happy, excited, or enjoying themselves. Additionally, Mackenzie
Carro says, “Google “beat boredom,” and you’ll get more than 20 million hits. Clearly,
humans don’t enjoy boredom.” People try every day not to fall into boredom so instead
they look for a way to “beat boredom”. In short, the package of boredom doesn’t come
with a side of enjoyment.
Ultimately, boredom leads to all types of harmful things. As Erin Westgate stated
her experiment showed that, “When given the opportunity to self-administer a mild
electric shock with a button, 67 percent of men and 25 percent of women pressed it at
Boredom Pg. 2
least once to help pass the time. One particularly miserable person shocked himself an
incredible 190 times.” If people would rather shock themselves than sit there and be
bored that brings us back to our first reason self harm. In other words, they are so bored
they’d like to hurt themselves aka depression symptoms self-harm. Erin Westgate also
says, “‘More recent work has shown that they’re more willing to hurt others and behave
sadistically by docking other participants’ pay or grinding up bugs in a coffee grinder, if
given the choice,’” This could with enough boredom lead to a mass serial killing
because the person was so bored they decided to have fun or fill up there time killing
people. In essence, all types of harmful things can come from boredom.
Critics argue that boredom can be very motivational. In the article by Mackenzie
Carro, it says, “...famous figures past and present have embraced boredom” Yes but
also some of those people had a mental illness. Mary Shelley had depression along
with Frida Kahlo suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. That boredom could have
helped cause these mental illnesses.
In summary, people should avoid boredom because it can lead to mental
illnesses, no enjoyment, and all types of harmful things. Mental illnesses can lead to
suicide. Would you want to end up with ant mental illnesses.
