The Lost Art of Boredom: How Screen Time Is Killing Creativity

Nowadays, it is common to see children using screens to prevent boredom. However, what seems like an immediate practical solution contributes to a much deeper problem: the disappearance of boredom as an everyday experience. As Writer’s Digest warns, “We are raising a generation of kids who have never known true boredom, never felt that maddening itch of an empty afternoon that can only be scratched by creating something new.”

Boredom, although uncomfortable, has historically been an engine of creativity. When there are no digital distractions, children invent games, tell stories, draw, or look for a way to entertain themselves. Today, however, constant access to screens has reduced these outlets for imagination and reflection. The question is inevitable: what happens to children’s creativity when we never allow our children to get bored?

The role of boredom in creativity and the impact of screens

Far from being a waste of time, boredom is a state that pushes the brain to seek stimuli, solutions, and new forms of entertainment. Psychologist Jennifer Delgado states that “Boredom allows children to connect with their essence and develop an emotional resilience that will be useful to them in adult life.” Other specialists agree that boredom is not passivity; Children & Screens mentions that “it causes changes in what we feel, think, and do, prompting us to imagine alternative scenarios and new goals.”

In fact, several studies show that when children lack immediate external stimuli, they resort to imagination to invent games, create stories, or experiment with their surroundings. This process activates divergent thinking, a crucial aspect of innovation and creative problem-solving. An article in Edutopia sums it up like this: When the brain goes into “default mode,” it opens up possibilities for creativity and complex problem-solving.

Overusing screens can affect children’s ability to solve problems creatively, as they have less hands-on experience and less spare time to explore, discover new things, and develop different ways of thinking. For example, a child who spends a lot of time playing video games might not have as much time to explore nature, draw, or create things with their hands, which can affect their ability to find creative solutions to non-video game problems. As Writer’s Digest explains, “Every time we surrender and hand over the iPad… we are erasing our children’s ability to create their own entertainment, their own stories, and their own memories.”

The educational psychologist Bartolomé Úbeda sums it up by saying that “Boredom is not a pathology to be cured; it is an opportunity to develop creativity, reflection, and autonomy. It is like a blank sheet of paper: you decide what to draw.”

Although screens offer an ocean of possibilities for entertainment, learning, and social connection, they are consumed in a structured, passive way. Many video games have defined rules, YouTube videos follow a predetermined sequence, and social media is designed to hold attention, leaving little room for spontaneous creation.

Of course, technology can also inspire; the painter Timothy Lai, for example, explains how he uses digital boards to organize his ideas and explore recurring themes. Additionally, educational applications, digital storytelling, and augmented reality can be effective allies when used with pedagogical intentionality. The challenge is to find a balance, leveraging the best of the digital without replacing the experience of boredom and self-creation.

The Harvard Business Review blog has proposed a four-step plan for a healthy relationship with boredom: observe, decipher, decide, and cultivate. The idea is to resist the immediate urge to grab a screen, analyze the kind of boredom we feel, decide how to deal with it, and, in some cases, deliberately incorporate times of inactivity into a routine that favors creativity.

1. Observe: Recognize boredom to intentionally address it and build resilience, rather than succumbing to the urge to immerse yourself in the screen. 
2. Decipher: Boredom presents in a variety of ways, from disconnecting to seeking distraction from a daunting task. Are you bored because you have nothing to do or because what you are doing is not pleasurable? Knowing the exact causes helps create a plan to manage this feeling and make more informed decisions.
3. Decide: Now that you know more about why you are bored, it is time to decide what to do about it. “Maybe your boredom just allows you to relax and unwind after an intense period at work. Alternatively, maybe it tells you something about your role itself,” the researchers suggest.
4. Grow: Although it may seem counterintuitive, experts suggest setting aside free time to be bored, as this can lead to increased innovation and productivity in the long run. “Because boredom can spark creativity, you might want to include a space for it as unstructured time in your work routine, for example, before you are asked to innovate, generate new ideas, and perform at your best,” they explain. 

The key is to distinguish between valuable and useless distractions. Daydreaming can be a constructive form of mind wandering that leads to the incubation of ideas. On the contrary, endless scrolling on social networks fragments attention and generates cognitive fatigue.

Denying children the possibility of being bored is not a minor matter, since boredom plays a structural role in development. Eliminating it through digital hyperstimulation not only impoverishes the daily experience but also critical dimensions of child growth.

• Language and communication. Recent studies show that even in very young children, prolonged exposure to mobile devices is associated with poorer development of language comprehension and expression. Additionally, the use of screens by mothers has a cumulative effect on children’s vocabulary development. A longitudinal study in Australia revealed that each extra minute of screen time resulted in fewer adult words, fewer children’s vocalizations, and fewer shifts in conversation. This suggests that technology interferes with opportunities for verbal interaction, which is essential for language development.
• Emotional self-regulation. Boredom teaches tolerance to frustration and patience, which are central competencies for adult life. If children learn that every discomfort is resolved immediately with a screen, they miss opportunities to develop patience, delay gratification, and manage discomfort. In the classroom, this translates to increased impulsivity, low tolerance for waiting in line, and difficulty persisting in tasks that require sustained effort.
• Imagination and free play. Imagination flourishes when a solution is not already provided. If children consume structured entertainment continuously, they lose the need and opportunity to create their own worlds. Unstructured play, in which children invent rules and scenarios, is fertile ground for creativity. However, when digital games come with predefined narratives, the possibility of experimenting with one’s own fictional worlds is reduced. Singer and Singer (2006) stress that imagination is key to creativity, but passive forms of digital entertainment are displacing it. 
• Mental health. Recent research shows that high screen use is associated with increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among adolescents. For example, in Brazil, teens with four to six hours of daily screen use displayed a significant increase in depressive and anxious symptomatology. In a longitudinal study in Canada, increasing screen time led to greater symptoms of depression and anxiety the following year. One systematic review highlighted that the excessive use of social networks and recreational screen play seems to impact adolescent psychological well-being negatively. In addition, a national survey in the U.S. indicated that adolescents with more than four hours of non-school screen time a day face higher odds of depression, anxiety, irregular sleep patterns, and lack of social support. 

This suggests that boredom is part of life training, as it promotes communication, strengthens self-regulation, enriches the imagination, and protects mental health. Depriving children of this natural resource means limiting their ability to develop essential tools in an increasingly complex world. As the therapist Kent Toussaint explains, “Boredom is the seed of creativity, but when people are avoiding boredom all the time, they never need to create, learn a skill, do art, or go out and make friends.” 

Strategies for parents and educators

What can be done at home and at school to preserve the value of boredom without demonizing technology? Here are some practical recommendations according to the various authors cited previously in this article:

1. Validate boredom: Rather than perceiving it as a problem that needs to be resolved immediately, it’s essential to recognize it as a natural part of development. When a child says, “I’m bored,” we can respond calmly, “What do you want to do?” This attitude changes the perception: boredom is not a void to be filled with screens but an invitation to personal exploration. This validation teaches children to self-regulate their emotions and not always depend on external stimuli to feel better.
2. Offer open materials: Objects that do not have a single use, such as paper, pencils, cardboard boxes, costumes, and natural elements, awaken creativity because they force the child to attribute a personal meaning to them. Unlike electronic toys with a closed script, open materials can transform into whatever the imagination dictates: a box can be a rocket, a castle, or a house. This type of play encourages divergent thinking and reinforces creative autonomy.
3. Encourage free play: Dedicating time to unstructured and passive play is essential. In the classroom, this means activities without rigid instructions, while at home, it means allowing children to invent dynamics without continuous adult intervention. Free play develops social skills, rules negotiation, problem-solving, and, most of all, imagination. The evidence shows that children who participate in spontaneous play tend to be more cognitively flexible and demonstrate greater capacity for innovation in school.
4. Explore nature: Contact with the natural environment offers multisensory stimuli that are difficult to replicate in digital environments —colors, textures, sounds, and smells. Walking, climbing trees, or collecting stones are all experiences that promote curiosity and creativity. In addition, spending time in nature has been shown to improve sustained attention and reduce stress in childhood. This seemingly simple type of exploration helps boredom transform into wonder and discovery.
5. Balance screens and offline activities: Technology should not be seen as an enemy, but as a tool that requires limits. Setting reasonable times, such as avoiding screens during meals or before bed, helps children reserve time for free play and mental rest. It is recommended to prioritize creative or educational use, such as searching for information, creating a digital drawing, or exploring a virtual museum, over passive consumption. In this way, screens complement imagination rather than replace it.
6. Invite storytelling: Storytelling strengthens language and creativity. Reading together, making up stories, or writing short stories allows children to exercise their ability to symbolize, create characters, and make sense of their experiences. These activities strengthen the affective bond and develop communicative competencies that later translate into critical thinking and academic skills.
7. Model by example: Children learn more from what they see than from what they are told. So, adults should also allow themselves to disconnect and tolerate boredom. For example, reading a book in silence, drawing, knitting, or simply resting without a cell phone conveys that an external stimulus is not always necessary to feel fulfilled. Modeling healthy habits is key for children to internalize the knowledge that boredom is an opportunity, not a problem.

Isaac Rudansky, in Writer’s Digest, recounts how, as a child, his father eliminated the television from the home. After an initial rebellion, he discovered the path to books and imagination. Decades later, he repeated this story with his children. When he turned off the screen, he found that, after the tantrums, painting, writing, and creative play emerged.

This “secret garden of boredom” is an increasingly scarce space in children’s lives, but it is more necessary than ever. In society, we, the parents and educators, are guardians of this capacity for wonder. Whenever we choose patience over the quick fix of a screen, we give children the opportunity to make up their own stories.

Boredom is not an enemy to be eradicated, but a pedagogical and emotional resource to be recovered. In the midst of digital saturation, allowing ourselves and children to explore creative voids can be key to forming generations that are more resilient, imaginative, and capable of confronting an ever-changing world.

Translation by Daniel Wetta

Paulette Delgado

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0