How culturally specific are experiences of boredom?

[118118]

I was bored I did a literature search.
One study associates boredom succeptability with job disatisfaction.
There's a link between boredom and lack of meaning in schizoids .
Boredom, especially chronic boredom, is occasionally linked to depression (a symptom of depression), but some studies on how boredom can be a good thing (leads to positive outcomes).
Whatever, it seems that job boredom and meaningless/depression/job satisfaction may be linked but are clearly not synonyms, and I stand by my claim that treating boredom as such is just a way of coping with other work stressors.

There are a number of rating scales including boredom coping, succeptability and job boredom: Vodanovich 2003

It seems that most of the stuff is on senstaion seeking/crime

 

[Brainaddict]

i disagree with this. it sounds like you are saying that (as an example) the consumption of good food as a cumulative activity will ameliorate experiences of boredom. this is *often* seen as a short-term fix to the problem of boredom. invariably this is unhealthy (like the drinking example) and may even result in bad health. i think this is probably quite common in the west *and* in completely different cultures too. i think this type of 'fix' is likely to be employed by people experiencing long-term general 'life' boredom *and* those simply experiencing a few hours of boredom. this strategy *does* relate to lack of meaning imo; both globally (generally) and in the short-term.

As 118118 implied, the 'invariably' you use here is too strong, and you seem to be implying that all the short-term fixes are bad for you (at least when used a lot). I think you've got to allow for things like truly good food, sex-as-recreation, and other purely physical pleasures that don't actually harm you.

I guess my point is, I think it could be possible to live a life without meaning without getting bored, as long as you found the brief pleasures you indulged in to be comforting enough. I'm pretty sure some people do this.

 

[tastebud]

As 118118 implied, the 'invariably' you use here is too strong, and you seem to be implying that all the short-term fixes are bad for you (at least when used a lot). I think you've got to allow for things like truly good food, sex-as-recreation, and other purely physical pleasures that don't actually harm you.

this bit lost me a bit.

I guess my point is, I think it could be possible to live a life without meaning without getting bored, as long as you found the brief pleasures you indulged in to be comforting enough. I'm pretty sure some people do this.

this bit makes more sense. you could be right. how does this relate to culture though? i think if this is the case then it will apply cross-culturally.

 

[Brainaddict]

i think the interesting questions are:
a) are we more *prone* to boredom in the west?
b) is life dissatisfaction more common in the west? (that is feelings of 'long-term boredom)'.

These questions were in my mind during my initial ramble, though I didn't want to restrict the question to that, and I think there have even been some answers on the thread. The answer to (a) is almost certainly yes I think, and relates to all kinds of things that have already been raised, such as the social differences. (b) Is a very difficult one I think. For myself I've met so many people in poor countries who *seemed* content with their lot, but then if you offered them a visa to work in Europe....

 

[Brainaddict]

this bit lost me a bit.

You seemed to be implying that all the short-term boredom fixes would be bad for you. I don't think that's the case. Many of them yes, but not all. Which led on to that second bit that you agreed with.

As for the relevance to culture, I guess I was wondering whether we are more or less likely in the Westernised world to use short-term fixes. And would that say anything interesting about our boredom?

 

[118118]

I guess my point is, I think it could be possible to live a life without meaning without getting bored, as long as you found the brief pleasures you indulged in to be comforting enough.

this bit makes more sense. you could be right. how does this relate to culture though? i think if this is the case then it will apply cross-culturally.

So you agree that life meaningless isn't just chronic boredom?
The links between job disatisfaction and succeptability, and between depression and chronic boredom, would imply otherwise. But there seems to be important differences, like the one above, or that boredom can be good for us...

 

[tastebud]

And would that say anything interesting about our boredom?

i guess it says that we are shallow and crap. i agree that it is not always a bad thing to use food, sex, etc as a short-term fix for boredom. in fact, using food or sex is definitely better than shopping. i also think this is likely to be the case for non-western cultures, but i would imagine a lot less common. the reason why is interesting; in terms of culture shaping, and increasing proneness to, experiences of boredom.

i don't think i was saying that it is always bad for you btw, just that it could be if used as a boredom alleviate more often than not. this fact cannot be disputed; we see it happen.

So you agree

annoyingly so.

... that life meaningless isn't just chronic boredom?

i personally think that the two are inextricably linked.

boredom can be good for us...

this is an interesting point. if it can be good for us that would suggest it is a natural human condition that we have been programmed to experience from time-to-time. perhaps in order to achieve something positive; procreation might be a good example?
with any natural human condition there will always be extreme or 'abnormal' ends of the continuum, for example children with attention deficit disorders or children and adolescents with bipolar disorder.
maybe we need to understand the biology of boredom before we study the concept cross-culturally. maybe we do already, i don't know.

random extra bit: something like crap television is probably a symptom of, as well as a cause of, boredom.
given that non-western cultures may not have television they may be less prone to the beast of boredom; that has been created in the western world through conditioning (in the form of mindless entertainment).

 

[Poi E]

given that non-western cultures may not have television they may be less prone to the beast of boredom

They'll probably be slaves to the beast of poverty.

 

[goldenecitrone]

They'll probably be slaves to the beast of poverty.

Not to mention war, famine and natural disasters.

 

[Poi E]

Not to mention war, famine and natural disasters.

Who needs TV, eh?

 

[118118]

i personally think that the two are inextricably linked.

I would be wary of this idea. I don't know what you mean by inextricably linked but if we have evidence against the idea that lack of meaning is a valid definition of chronic boredom then we also have evidence against any other watered down idea that is being used to try and smuggle in the original one.

IMO all we the evidence we have, is that some people think lack of meaning at work is boredom. This is false, so why do they make this association? Is it to cope with poor work conditions?

I still see no reason why one would be unable to study boredom cross culturally. I see no reason why this would be any more difficult than other states and traits. Isn't this the problem that validity studies are for, making sure that the concept we are studying is scientific? I see no reason why the use of biological techniques would make the study any more scientific.
I would assume, also, that other personality questionnaires etc. do have cross cultural relevance.
Besides which I would guess that it is unworkable for decades, will still don't know the biological base of extraversion. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Japey]

One of my favourite quotes is from Schopenhauer - that life is a choice between suffering and boredom.

To illustrate: We strive towards something we want. i.e - we suffer. If we achieve it, then we become bored. Which then compels us to strive towards something else.

this is the life of almost all men. They will, they know what they will, and they strive after this with enough success to protect them from despair, and enough failure to preserve themselves from boredom.

A culture like ours will tend towards boredom, because so much of the essential work is done by machines, leaving us with jobs tending machines, satisfying other people's leisure requirements, and engaging in our own leisure activities.

A culture where you need to do a lot more challenging work to survive will tend towards suffering instead.

My view is that suffering in the pursuit of something is better than boredom. But boredom is much easier.

I think it was on I'm sorry I haven't a clue, where the presenter said. "As Schopenhauer said, 'life is a choice between suffering and boredom'. However, with tonight's panel, we've been able to experience both at once."

 

[fela fan]

A westerner needs to be doing something, to avoid boredom.

Someone rightful about the ways of meditation can be doing nothing, and enjoying life. Doing nothing being a pleasurable activity.

I can remember boredom being a part of my life before i left my country to live elsewhere.

Now i cannot imagine ever being bored. Maybe being bored is something that happens when in the society that brought us up to be certain citizens. Maybe society stifles the individuality in us, and that leads to boredom.

In non-western countries, many people live to a much slower time beat. Maybe that is an innoculation against boredom...

 

[revol68]

A westerner needs to be doing something, to avoid boredom.

Someone rightful about the ways of meditation can be doing nothing, and enjoying life. Doing nothing being a pleasurable activity.

I can remember boredom being a part of my life before i left my country to live elsewhere.

Now i cannot imagine ever being bored. Maybe being bored is something that happens when in the society that brought us up to be certain citizens. Maybe society stifles the individuality in us, and that leads to boredom.

In non-western countries, many people live to a much slower time beat. Maybe that is an innoculation against boredom...

god your a right fucking knob end aren't!

Way tae fucking tibet.

 

[knopf]

Fran: You know, in Tibet, when they want something..... do you know what they do? They give something away.
Bernard: Which explains why they're such a major world power.

Actually, revol, you remind me of Bernard in a way.......

 

[revol68]

thats the nicest thing anyones ever said to me.

 

[knopf]

I'm not surprised.

 

[AaronAgassi]

http://www.FoolQuest.com/alien.htm#bore

 

[AaronAgassi]

http://www.FoolQuest.com/alien.htm#bore