- I love my iPhone. I take it with me everywhere. But I am starting to fear it may be killing my creativity. Numerous studies and much accepted wisdom suggest that time spent doing nothing, being bored, is beneficial for sparking and sustaining creativity. With our iPhone in hand – or any smartphone, really – our minds, always engaged, always fixed on that tiny screen, may simply never get bored. And our creativity suffers. Peter Toohey, author of Boredom: A Lively History, told the New York Times that boredom is the experience of “wanting to, but being unable to engage in satisfying activity.” No wonder those of us with smartphones are able to avoid boredom so easily. We can always engage in some satisfying activity, no matter how trivial – snap a picture of our meal, play a quick game of Angry Birds, check-in on Foursquare or leave a tip.
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