Motivation and emotion/Book/2021/Boredom and technology addiction

Boredom and technology addiction:
What is the relationship between boredom and technology addiction and what can be done about it?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

In today's technology-saturated world, it is typical to see people with their devices in hand everywhere they go: on public transport, in the street, in classrooms, on dates, at parties, even sometimes while driving etc. More often than not, people are not speaking into their mobile phones, but are rather focused down at them – texting, browsing the Internet, or playing games. Technology addiction is a new phenomenon that has already attracted the attention of the mainstream research community .

Technologies like mobiles, tablets and computers are frequently used by people to meet day to day needs. Technologies have made our living easier and now, it seems impossible to imagine life without these technologies. Social networking through mobiles and the internet have become common practice, in both social and business styles today. Adolescents and younger populations are reported as being more highly affected by technology addictions, but as social media begins to play a bigger part of the corporate world and marketing - older generations are starting to use technology more and more.

The use of technology is essential in day to day life making tasks easier, however, abnormal, excessive, unnecessary use leads to addiction. Internet addiction has been described as excessive or poorly controlled pre-occupations, urges or behaviors related to use of computers, phones and other technology; it is generally significantly impairing and can be distressing for both the individual and those around them. Historical research has shown that high technology use is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and overall psychological stress.

Case study COVID-19 has triggered the emergence of various psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep-related disorders. Throughout the pandemic, a significant amount of research has been published on COVID-19 and its effects. In these studies, an increase has generally been observed with regards to various psychological problems evidenced throughout the general population. Some studies have found that COVID-19 fear has a moderator effect on the ‘Mediating role of boredom proneness in relationship between internet addiction and DASS-21 meaning that the relationship between Internet addiction and boredom increased when the fear of COVID-19 was taken into consideration. This Study suggests that many people have reported using more technology since lockdown - although it is unclear throughout this study if this is due to boredom, working from home, or because people are monitoring the media more closely.

What is the Issue?

Heavy users of the mobile phone tend to exhibit more addiction symptoms. Studying have shown that people who have technology removed, show a higher regression than those who used the mobile phone more in minutes per day were those who scored high on sensation seeking, and were older, but less educated. Females tended to a spend longer time on each call while those who were older and had a higher self-esteem talked to a larger pool of people on a regular basis using their mobile phones. This suggests that, as a social technology, the mobile phone has become a popular communication utility and a relationship facilitator.

It has been argued that the way anxiety has been measured in these studies is the reason for the high technology use in the first place and not a consequence thereof and that high engagement with technology may exacerbate predispositions to anxiety, leading to an increased likelihood of co-morbidity of depression. This may be because text-based communication such as the kind facilitated by mobile phones takes alot of focus, it can be a tolling process in itself, often characterized by ambiguity and the misunderstandings and anxiety that accompany efforts to decipher it .

Once again, it is possible that the relationship is reverse, and that individuals with depression use mobile phones more intensively to tap into their social networks for help with coping. Research shows that stress combined with high texting leads to lower emotional wellbeing and that the frequency of mobile phone use has almost no association with perceived access to social support for men and no association for women.

It is suggested that heavy users of mobile phones tended to exhibit more addiction symptoms. Regression results also show that those who used the mobile phone more in minutes per day were those who scored high on sensation seeking, and were older, but less educated. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that females tended to spend longer time on each call while those who were older and high on self-esteem talked to a larger pool of people on a regular basis using their mobile phones. This suggests that, as a social technology, the mobile phone has become a popular communication utility and a relationship facilitator.

What is Boredom? Boredom is a common feeling. Feeling unsatisfied by an activity, or uninterested the activity, can lead to boredom. Boredom may occur when you feel energetic but have nowhere to direct your energy. It may also occur when you have difficulty focusing on a task. What is Technology addiction? Technology addiction is an impulse control disorder that involves the obsessive use of mobile devices, the internet or video games, despite negative consequences to the user of the technology. Excessive use of technology may be used as an escape mechanism to avoid unpleasant life situations or relieve boredom. What is Motivation? Motivation is what explains why people or animals initiate, continue or terminate a certain behaviour at a particular time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behaviour. What is the Relationship between boredom and technology addiction There are both positive and negative effects of technology use. it has been suggested that individuals can use it to escape boredom, or can use it to fullfil themselves socially.

Some common effects associated with internet addiction;

• headaches
• dizziness
• body aches
• numbness in the hands and feet
• dry and blurry eyes
• reduced sleep quality
• depression
• anxiety
• loneliness
• decreased face-to-face social interactions
• interpersonal difficulties
• social isolation
• cyberbullying
• overall decreased quality of life
• work intrusion and bad academic performance
• engagement in dangerous behaviours (e.g., distracted driving)  

Studies done in both Korea and Spain have shown that high engagement with mobile phones and the internet can be directly correlated with higher levels of risk taking behavior especially when that engagement is text-based instead of call-based. According to a study in Korea, individuals who were addicted to their mobile phones had higher rates of social anxiety and according to a study in Spain higher technology use was highly associated with depression.

1 What are the most common feelings associated with technology addiction

	Anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders
	positive feelings, and accomplishments

2 People who engage in more Technology use, also partake in higher risk taking behaviours

	True
	False

3 Technology addiction effects elder populations more that adolescence and

	True
	False

Motivation Theories of Boredom

investigating the historical evidence has shown that smartphone addiction significantly increases the risk of a variety of psychosocial and psychophysical issues, such as headaches, body aches, depression, anxiety and other social disorders. A number of theories have been developed, and used to explain boredom, and motivation.

Arousal Theories

Arousal theories rely on external stimuli in the environment for motivation. It is suggested that when arousal levels drop below a particular physiological threshold, boredom begins to seek out stimulation. In the case of boredom, if the level of stimulation in the environment does not meet desired threshold demands it can result in becoming dissatisfied. In turn, this decrease in arousal and dissatisfaction can causes loss of attention and allows individuals to enter a negative emotional state. Boredom that is induced by environmental factors is referred to as 'state' boredom. Another definition of boredom that is influenced by the environment is agitated boredom. Although the individual may be motivated, the lack of stimulation by the environment causes the state of boredom. This is different to the 'trait' boredom which focuses on our innate cognitive processes and may be investigated better using cognitive theories of motivation.

Self-Actualisation theories

Image 2 - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs visualisation

Self-actualization theory is most often referenced as a higher stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Human motivational theory explains Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is composed of a number of stages beginning with the most primitive physiological urges and ending with the individual attaining self-actualization and transcendence. Maslow suggests that individuals are motivated to attain each stage as life is progressed through and to overcome the obstacles confronting completion at each stage. The self-actualisation stage of the hierarchy of needs motivates the individual to reach maximum potential and achieve what is truly desired. This can only be achieved if the lower stages in the hierarchy have been fulfilled, without which the individual will not have the grounding to achieve the higher stage, self-actualisation . More prevalent traits in this stage include personal autonomy, compassion, harmonious interpersonal relationships, high levels of integration and many more. this suggests that these traits can be affected by a construct such as boredom. In a study from 1991, McLeod and Vodanovich found that high boredom proneness scores had a negative affect on self-actualisation scores. It was also found that those who showed more traits of self-actualisation were less prone to boredom. Studies have found that participants with low BPS scores were more productive with their time, had greater social regulation and had greater autonomy.

Image 3 - Hierarchy of the four sources of motivation

Social Cognitive theory and Self Regulation

Self-regulation operates through a set of psychological sub-functions that must be developed and mobilized for self-directed change Intention and desire alone does not have enough effect if people lack the capability for exercising influence over their own motivation and behaviour. Individuals cannot influence their own motivation and actions if they do not pay attention to their own performances, the conditions under which they occur, and the immediate and distal effects they produce.

Boredom as a positive construct

Only in recent years has boredom been viewed as a construct that can be perceived as having a positive purpose. It has been suggested that boredom is an essential component of daily life, and it serves as a functional positive construct in our motivation, especially towards goals and their achievement. Studies have suggest that boredom is an emotional regulator that acts as a cue for the individual to change goals or pursue an alternative goal when the current goal is insignificant or dissatisfying This theory was further developed when boredom was defined as a process that helps “to restore the perception that one’s activities are meaningful or significant”. In relation to motivation, boredom ensures that the individual’s motivation and effort are used to correct activities by hindering the processes that are used on insignificant goals. It is further proposed that if boredom did not exist, the individual “would remain trapped in unfulfilling situations and miss out on many emotionally cognitively and socially rewarding experiences".

These theories combined, confirm that boredom does in fact have an effect on motivation and distinguish that boredom, like other constructs, has an essential place in our daily lives in both positive and negative circumstances.

Relationships among boredom, sensation seeking and technology addiction

The biggest limitation in the research of boredom and technology addiction is defining the terms. The broad definitions makes it difficult to identify if outcomes (technology use) are as a result of boredom, or if results are due to another aspect. Technology use also requires further defining, as technology can be used positively (e.g. using a laptop (technology) to do an assignment, is a positive interaction, and how would this effect mental health effects).

Studies and Research in relation to technology are far and few between, even more when searching for the link between technology, boredom and mental health disorders. Due to the lack of published studies, it would be recommended that further research is done, specifically on the long term affects of boredom disorders and technology addiction. Studies should focus on younger children, and specific types of social media. Further studies should also investigate the imperfections of the term boredom, and work on defining this more clearly.

Negative mental health outcomes associated with use of Information and Communication Technologies depend on users’ motivations

High technology use is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and overall psychological distress; however, in depth research on this topic is far and few between. A 2011 study was conducted to explore the relationship between internet and mobile phone use and mental health. In this study, participants were given questionnaires to assess their manner of mobile phone and internet use and their levels of depression and anxiety. There were strong positive relationships between lower mental health and problematic technology use, especially when people turned to devices to avoid negative experiences or feelings. Interestingly this study found that when participants used devices merely to escape boredom, no link was found between technology use and mental health problems. Not finding a link between technology use and mental health is interesting as this result was not commonly detected.

Boredom proneness and its correlation with Internet addiction and Internet activities

A study that examined the associations of boredom proneness with Internet addiction and activities as well as the moderators for such associations in adolescent's. The study had 300 adolescents participate. Their internet addiction, the scores for lack of external and internal stimulation on the boredom proneness scale-short form (BPS-SF), ADHD, parental characteristics, and the types of Internet activities were examined. The associations of boredom proneness with Internet addiction and Internet activities and the moderators of the associations were examined using logistic regression analyses. Higher scores for lack of external stimulation on the BPS-SF were significantly associated with a higher risk of Internet addiction. Maternal occupational socioeconomic status moderated the association of lack of external stimulation with Internet addiction, highlighting the effect of boredom and internet use. . Higher scores for lack of external stimulation were significantly associated with a high tendency to engage in online gaming, whereas higher scores for lack of internal stimulation were significantly associated with a low tendency to engage in online studies.

Is Boredom proneness related to social media overload and fatigue?

Another study investigated the effect of social media overload negatively affecting peoples{gr}} well-being. Social media overload and fatigue have become common phenomena that are negatively affecting people’s well-being and productivity. This study focused on building on the stress-strain-outcome framework, this study tested the model, hypothesizing the relationships between a social media user’s boredom proneness, information and communication overload, and social media fatigue. This study involved 286 social media users.

The results suggest a strong association between boredom proneness and both information and communication overload, social media fatigue. In addition, social media usage was found to amplify the effects of information overload on social media fatigue, but unexpectedly, attenuates the effects of communication overload. Communication overload is when an individual has multiple, simultaneous modes of interaction going on. A recent study published in Media Psychology suggests that a combination of communication overload and internet multitasking leads to stress, and higher negative mental states.

Relationships among boredom proneness, sensation seeking and smartphone addiction among Chinese college students

A Study done in 2017 looked at the relationship between smartphone activities, flow experience and boredom in free time. A total of 442 Chinese college students completed a survey focusing on boredom proneness, sensation seeking, past time, flow experience, self-regulation and smartphone addiction. The results indicated that boredom proneness positively affects smartphone addiction. Contrary to expectations, the results showed that there is no significant relationship between sensation seeking and smartphone addiction.

Conclusion

Studying the issue of technology addiction needs to continue to be researched and investigated as technology continues to become apart of our day to day lives. Technology is a double-edged sword that helps people not only stay in touch with family and friends but also build new relationships with strangers. However, it has been demonstrated that technology addictions can be directly linked to a range of physical, psychological and social problems. There have been strong, positive relationships between lower mental health and problematic technology use, especially when people turned to technology use to avoid negative mental states or feelings.

Arousal Theories, Self-actualization theory, Self-regulation and Boredom as a positive construct are the main Motivation theories that are used to address technology addictions, these begin to explain how technology addictions, or heightened levels of boredom can be identified and treated.

Further research needs to be done to define if boredom leads to technology addiction, or if technology addiction is a bi product of individuals trying to escape their already bad mental health.

See also

• 10 technology trends to watch in the COVID-19 pandemic (world Economic Forum)
• Boredom (Wikipedia)
• Digital media use and mental health
• Instagram's impact on people
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Wikipedia)
• Self-regulation - What is self-regulation, why does it matter, and how can it be developed? (Wikipedia)
• Self-regulation theory (Wikipedia)

References

Anjali, A., & Sabharwal, M. (2018). Anjali1, Manisha Sabharwal2 1Research Scholar, Department of Food and Nutrition, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, New Delhi 110001, India. 2Department of Food and Nutrition, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, New Delhi 110001, India.

Bandura, A. (1991b). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 248–287

Bench, S., & Lench, H. (2013). On the Function of Boredom. Behavioral Sciences, 3(3), 459–472.

Chou, W.-J., Chang, Y.-P., & Yen, C.-F. (2018). Boredom proneness and its correlation with Internet addiction and Internet activities in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences, 34(8), 467–474.

Danckert, J. (2017). Special topic introduction: understanding engagement: mind-wandering, boredom and attention. Experimental Brain Research, 236(9), 2447–2449.

Lester, D. (2013b). MEASURING MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS1. Psychological Reports, 130729083742000.

Leung, L. (2020). Exploring the relationship between smartphone activities, flow experience, and boredom in free time. Computers in Human Behavior, 103, 130–139.

London, H., Schubert, D. S., & Washburn, D. (1972). Increase of autonomic arousal by boredom. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 80(1), 29–36.

Murdock, K. K., Adams, S. K., Crichlow-Ball, C., Horissian, M., & Roberts, M. (2019). Nighttime notifications and compulsivity illuminate the link between emerging adults’ cellphone use and sleep-related problems. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(1), 12–21.

Serenko, A., & Turel, O. (2015). Integrating Technology Addiction and Use: An Empirical Investigation of Facebook Users. AIS Transactions on Replication Research, 1, 1–18.

Thomée, S., Härenstam, A., & Hagberg, M. (2011). Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults - a prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 11(1).

Watt, J. D., & Vodanovich, S. J. (1992). Relationship between Boredom Proneness and Impulsivity. Psychological Reports, 70(3), 688–690.

Watt, J. D., & Vodanovich, S. J. (1992). Relationship between Boredom Proneness and Impulsivity. Psychological Reports, 70(3), 688–690.  

Whelan, E., Najmul Islam, A. K. M., & Brooks, S. (2020). Is boredom proneness related to social media overload and fatigue? A stress–strain–outcome approach. Internet Research, 30(3), 869–887

YENGİN, D. (2019). DIGITAL ADDICTION AS TECHNOLOGY ADDICTION. TURKISH ONLINE JOURNAL OF DESIGN ART AND COMMUNICATION, 9(2), 130–144.

External links

• Signs & Symptoms of Technology Addiction (sandstonecare.com - video resource)
• Technological impact of COVID-19 (International Wound Journal)
• What Students Are Saying About How Much They Use Their Phones, and Whether We Should Be Worried (The New York Times)
• What Phones Do To Teen Brains (And What Teens Wanted To Know About That) (CPR News)
• <nowiki>51+ Scary Smartphone Addiction Statistics for 2021 [Nomophobia on the Rise] (Techjury.net)