Boredom - Definition and Overview

Boredom is a common emotion among children.

Boredom, or ennui (a French word, from Old French enui) is a reactive state to wearingly dull, repetitive, or tedious stimuli: suffering from a lack of interesting things to see, hear, etc., or do (physically or intellectually), while not in the mood of "doing nothing". Temporarily being in a situation of boredom may also be felt as a waste of time, but then it is usually considered worse than just that. Alternatively one may have the feeling that boredom is caused by having too much time. Boredom can also be a symptom of clinical depression.

Boredom may also lead to impulsive, and sometimes excessive, actions, that serve no purpose and are damaging to one's self-interest. For example, studies in behavioral finance have shown that stock traders can enter into "overtrading", which is buying or selling even when there is no objective reason to do it, just because they feel bored when there is nothing worth doing. Another example is the use of harmful recreational drugs.

Trivia

The word "boredom" first appears in the English language in the Charles Dickens novel Bleak House.