The children of today are being born into a world of connectivity. As a result, children may never have experienced boredom as we ‘oldies’ have experienced.
In her illuminating TED Talk, Manoush Zomorodi shares the impacts this can have on creativity through her personal experience with boredom. As a result of her experience, the ‘Bored and Brilliant’ research project was born. Manoush shares some interesting observations from this research and other conversations she has had on the topic:
- Many participants didn’t recognise the emotions they felt during challenges (having never experiencing boredom)
- Research indicated this leads to children being less creative and imaginative about their future and social issues
- With CEO’s identifying creativity as the number one competency they look for in leaders, it seems like this will become an area of significance
So what does this mean for the our young people? Technology is becoming more and more woven into the fabric of their world. And it needs to be. But how do we teach children how to use technology to improve their lives and self-regulate at the same time? Is there a way to create space for boredom and free thinking to promote creativity?
It appears as though digital literacy is becoming just as important as numeracy and literacy. And as Manoush highlights, “If you don’t decide how you are going to use technology, the platforms will decide for you”.
See the full 16 minute TED Talk below.
So how about checking out for a few minutes right now and feel what it’s like to be bored. Actually maybe have a look at other videos we have shared here first, then you have permission to disconnect and get creative…
