Last night, I had an epiphany while waiting in line at Walmart to use the self-checkout – I know it sounds crazy, but let me set the scene… It was Friday night when my significant other and I went out to do some last minute shopping. I was attending a bridal shower over the weekend and I needed some finishing touches to complete my gift. After choosing the perfect bag to complement the themed card and tissue paper, we trudged our way over to the checkout lines. In true Walmart fashion, only five of the near twenty lanes were open. Disgruntled by the slow cashiers and their customers hauling abundant carts, we decided the self-checkout line would be our best bet. As we walked, the overflow of stuff in my arms caused me to surrender my phone, keys, and wallet to my boyfriend who then stowed them in his massive pockets. Jealous of his functional clothing, I parked myself in the line and waited. The line was easily ten people long – this was going to take a while. My boyfriend, without hesitation, took out his phone and started playing a game. I glanced over, stretching my neck to be included. With my hands full and with my phone in his pocket, I had nothing to do but just stand there. After a while, the itch to scroll through my phone became insatiable. If I couldn’t do it, I rationalized, Max shouldn’t be able to either. “Put your phone away!” I snapped. He looked at me incredulously, mumbled a response, and continued playing. Was I really getting snippy because he had the ability to use his phone while I couldn’t? Why, yes I was! As the line crawled, the craving to look at my iPhone screen grew, and with a rush of disappointment, I realized that I couldn’t cope without my technological crutch. I couldn’t handle being bored.
Being Bored, It’s Harder than You Think
Alex Piwtoratsky. 