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Despite Having Unprecedented Access To Technology, Generation Z Is Already Bored (thedailybeast.com)
Taylor Lorenz, writing for The Daily Beast: There is a notion among older people that teens, with their smartphones and unlimited internet access, never experience boredom. CNN and other media outlets have repeatedly declared that smartphones have killed boredom as we know it. But today's teens are still bored, often incredibly so. They're just more likely to experience a new type of boredom: phone bored.
As members of what has been dubbed "Generation Z," a cohort that spans those born roughly between the years 1998 and 2010, today's teens and tweens have had unparalleled access to technology. Many have had smartphones since elementary, if not middle school. They've grown up with high-speed internet, laptops, and social media.
It's tempting to think that these devices, with their endless ability to stimulate, offer salvation from the type of mind-numbing boredom that is so core to the teen experience. But humans adapt to the conditions that surround them, and technical advances are no different. What seemed novel to one generation feels passe to the next. To many teens, smartphones and the internet have already lost their appeal.
As members of what has been dubbed "Generation Z," a cohort that spans those born roughly between the years 1998 and 2010, today's teens and tweens have had unparalleled access to technology. Many have had smartphones since elementary, if not middle school. They've grown up with high-speed internet, laptops, and social media.
It's tempting to think that these devices, with their endless ability to stimulate, offer salvation from the type of mind-numbing boredom that is so core to the teen experience. But humans adapt to the conditions that surround them, and technical advances are no different. What seemed novel to one generation feels passe to the next. To many teens, smartphones and the internet have already lost their appeal.
There is a whole planet to explore.
Put down the phone and look at the actual planet they are on.
If THAT bores you look up at night at the Universe.
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It's true! And even if money were no issue, I still don't think I'd ever choose to live in Silicon Valley or someplace similar. I get that some people love living like that, but it's not for everyone.
Anytime a discussion comes up suggesting how awful the suburbs are (or similarly, about how much it must suck to live in a "flyover" state), I have this internal struggle of "wow that's totally at odds with my experience" vs "shhh... it's in your own best interest to let 'em keep thinking that". :)