You're Not Uncreative. You're Just Never Bored.

Stella Rogers

4 hours ago

4 min read

As I sit in my childhood room, reading Pretty Little Liars, I envy a time that I barely know. I yearn for the days when, if you wanted a shirt, you had to wait until you could go to the mall to buy it, when your phone was used for calls and short text messages. Or when you waited until Sunday evening for the new episode of your favourite show. I miss when my life wasn't so consumed by a world that isn't even real.

When I doomscroll on my phone at 3 pm, I wonder: if I were nine years old again, what would I be doing?

I got my first social media account when I was ten. It was Pinterest, and it remains my favourite platform to this day. It's a place where I can curate my exact aesthetic for October or manifest my life in my ‘post-grad era’. And while I have spent my fair share of time on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and all of the above, I recently asked myself: does this even serve me?

I know what you're thinking: ‘Obviously, social media is bad for you.’ But social media isn't necessarily all bad; it just takes up too much of my life. I have no time to myself anymore, no time to let my mind roam free. My default has become Instagram or TikTok, not perusing the latest edition of Vogue. Have I become afraid of being bored? When I immerse myself in a digital world for continuous entertainment, maybe the biggest loss isn't just my time, but my imagination.

Boredom, a feeling kids used to avoid so desperately, is something I have found myself thankful for, even seeking out. Younger me would never believe it. ‘Why on earth are you thankful for boredom?’ you might ask. Well, it's because boredom is essential to creation. It is essential to growth. It is essential to learning. When you lose boredom, you lose your imagination.

When you're lying on your bed, staring at the ceiling, bored (I mean actually bored, not just sitting with a YouTube Short in front of your face), the mind starts to wander. Instead of a Sephora haul from Alix Earle, entertainment comes from the journey of learning how to nourish your own interests.

In an effort to limit social media use (Pinterest is the exception), I have become more confident in myself. Not in terms of my appearance, but in terms of my intellectual capabilities. I am reading more, drawing more, sending letters to my loved ones, and I even took up crocheting again. My love for writing has been reignited (thanks in part to this lovely magazine), and I feel motivated to step out of my comfort zone. I have rediscovered that I am creative, artistic, and that I can still try new things. It is because I allow my brain space for my imagination.

Going (somewhat) analogue has put a lot of things into perspective. I realised how much of my life was spent stimulating myself with other people's projects and creativity, rather than my own. Especially in an age of AI, where you can write an essay in seconds, I have become very conscious of how much of my world is created by AI versus me.

While AI is helpful in many ways, it can feel easy to fall back on it unnecessarily. We seek convenience to the point that friction becomes intolerable. Much of the time that used to be spent thinking, brainstorming and creating has been replaced by AI. This poses yet another challenge to keeping imagination alive. Since we are doing less of the thinking ourselves, our brains don't have as many opportunities to exercise their ability to create.

So, while I would love to trade in my iPhone for a T-Mobile Sidekick (which I can't do because it's discontinued and would only work on a 3G network), maybe social media is only part of the issue. Technology adds a lot to our lives, but slowly and quietly, it is taking away something much more vital to society. We are so used to constant entertainment; the real answer may be to embrace the boredom.

Instead of doomscrolling on TikTok, I am inhaling the Pretty Little Liars book series. I engage in activities that make life feel simple again, like drawing ballerinas, sketching dinner party menus and writing ‘Dear Diary’. I am regaining control over my ability to create my own reality. But most of all, finding joy in these seemingly childish activities stimulates my brain and nourishes my inner child, the one who was not afraid to wonder.

What I dream about, what I want, what interests me, can be brought to life through my mind and creativity. I don't need to watch someone online to make my dreams feel real; I need myself. When I reflect on the younger me, she is vibrant. Constantly outside, putting stickers on every surface, writing books, playing dress-up. I think that I have a lot to learn from nine-year-old Stella and her unbounded ability to create.

I know these suggestions aren't new or groundbreaking. Obviously, we would all be better off reading a book, but they're a nice reminder that life is more than the latest Instagram post from Kendall Jenner. You can find enjoyment and fulfillment in offline activities, to the point where you don't even miss social media.

The world's imagination is in decline; don't let yours go out with it.