The Student News Site of Gannon University since 1947

THE GANNON KNIGHT

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The Student News Site of Gannon University since 1947

THE GANNON KNIGHT

The Student News Site of Gannon University since 1947

THE GANNON KNIGHT

It’s time to view the world outside of your phone screen

It’s time to view the world outside of your phone screen

I’m such a hypocrite when it comes to my phone. I’m always telling people to get off theirs like an old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn, but I’m just as addicted. I’m on the damn thing all the time. It’s sickening. So this isn’t some kind of sermon for all the whippersnappers out there who can’t even make it through a class period without checking for new stories on Snapchat. Maybe just food for thought.
One of the only times I have a creative thought for my columns is when I’m bored. Like, actually bored. Not the kind of boredom that is wasted on a “What ‘Family Matters’ character are you?” quiz on Buzzfeed. I’m Carl, but that’s beside the point.
I’m talking about ready-to-pull-your hair-out boredom. If you’re reading this, you’ve already allowed yourself to reach a reading-The-Gannon-Knight level of boredom, so I applaud you. As far as boredom goes, it’s fairly high on the intensity scale that is by no means linear.
There are times I’ll leave my phone in my book bag and consciously let myself suffer, as if being bored is now this medieval, third-world privation that only a lunatic would deny himself the luxury of avoiding.
I honestly think it’s healthy, so I try. I succeed very few times, but I try.
What is the meaning of life? What ever happened to Smash Mouth? And why the hell is there Braille on drive-through ATM’s? There’s so much to ponder when you’re not filling that boring downtime scrolling through someone’s totally meme-tastic Instagram account or watching a tutorial that your aunt shared on Facebook on how to perfectly slice an avocado.
Maybe start by not Google searching every one of these little questions that pop up. The internet can be like training wheels for your brain sometimes. Maybe there’s a good reason why Smash Mouth isn’t around anymore that you don’t want to know about.
In my head I sometimes like to plan out a new diet and workout program that I’m DEFINITELY starting the following week because my body continues to turn into a wasteland of fast food and caffeine.
I just have no motivation to lift heavy things, run until I’m wheezing or carry one of those gallon jugs of water around with me so that I have to pee like a racehorse all day. Seriously, that’s almost a dozen beers of water. Why in the world do you exercisers need to be that hydrated?
It’s still a recurring cycle regardless. It’s the thought that counts. My doctor probably disagrees with that though.
Other times I’ll think about my dreams, like bidding $1 on the “Price is Right” and setting the Plinko record on some special Christmas episode in which Bob Barker returns as host, or marrying rich and becoming a stay-at-home dad. It’s important to think about the future. It’s one of the only thoughts keeping me going this year.
To try and somewhat establish my credibility regarding this column, I did a little research on boredom and its effects on the brain.
Apparently chronic boredom has been linked to a myriad of behavioral issues, but where’s the fun without a few of those.
Let yourself be bored once in a while. And pay attention in class, you dang millennials, even if those statements are synonymous.

KYLE JOSEPH
[email protected]

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