明治政経2009 Ⅰ

Ten years or so ago, boring minutes were just a fact of life: time passing away as you stared idly into space, stood in line, or sat in a traffic jam.  Increasingly, ( ), such empty moments as these are being filled ( 1 )  productivity, communication, and the digital distractions offered by an ever-  expanding array of new mobile devices. But are we too busy looking through  the song list on our iPods―( ) checking e-mail, ( V* ) changing lanes  on the highway ― to consider whether we are giving up a good thing? We are  most human when we feel dull. Having the luxury to be bored is something  unknown ( 2 ) creatures that spend all their time pursuing mere survival.  To be bored is to stop reacting to the external world, and to explore the  internal one. It is in these times of reflection that people often discover  something new, whether it is realizing something about a relationship or  imagining a new theory about the way the universe works. Naturally, many  people emerge from boredom feeling that they have accomplished nothing.  ( "5 ) is accomplishment really the point of life? There is a strong  argument that boredom ― so often thought of as a frustrating state of  nothingness ― is an essential human emotion that underlies art, literature, philosophy, science, and even love.

"If you think of boredom as the prelude to creativity, and loneliness as the  prelude to engagement of the imagination, then these are good things," said  Dr. Edward Hallowell, a Sudbury psychiatrist and author of the book  Crazy Busy. 'They are doorways to something better, as opposed ( 3 )  something to be hated and eliminated immediately."

Public health officials worry about increased obesity, the unintended  consequence of a modern lifestyle that allows easy access ( 4 ) calories.  What technology seems to offer is similar: a wide variety of distractions that offer the benefit of connection, but at a cost. Already, mobile technology has   shaped the way people interact and communicate. [ Y ], public spaces have become semi-private bubbles of conversation, and things like getting a busy signal or being unreachable seem odd, almost humorously old-fashioned. Today, distraction from boredom is not just merely available; it is almost unavoidable.

Perhaps nothing illustrates the speed of social change better than the new fear of being disconnected to the world without the security of a **cell phone. ( X ) a human invention, the cell phone is still new, but it is already one of the three things people fear to forget when they leave the house: keys, wallet, and phone.

When people are performing some activity with little reward, they get annoyed and find themselves feeling bored. If something more engaging comes along, they move on. If nothing does, they may be motivated enough to think of something new themselves. The most creative people have also been found to have the greatest toleration for long periods of uncertainty and boredom.

Strangely, as cures for boredom have multiplied, people do not seem to feel less bored; they simply use more energy trying to escape boredom, jumping from one activity to the next. Some college teachers have noted a kind of ***blank-faced look among their students over the past few years, a "laptop culture" that the teachers find somewhat troubling. The students have more channels to be social; there are always things to do. And yet they do really appear oddly blank-faced. They are not quite bored ― but not really interested either.

A certain amount of boredom may be the first step toward feeling actually connected to yourself, toward knowing who you, yourself alone, truly are.