Teens say they’re bored with their smartphones
NEW YORK -- Today's teens may seem like they're constantly on their phones, but many say they're actually bored with the devices. A recent article in The Daily Beast -- "Generation Z Is Already Bored by the Internet" -- takes a look at how despite unprecedented access to technology, young people are still struggling to keep themselves entertained.
Taylor Lorenz, a tech and culture reporter for The Daily Beast who wrote the piece, joined CBSN to explain how teens are relieving their boredom by creating content instead of just consuming it.
"You just spend so much time consuming media, you feel like you've seen it all. A lot of them stay very within the bounds of their own internet -- maybe they're only allowed to use a certain set of apps, or maybe their internet use is being monitored -- so they sort of have their apps [and] they feel like they've seen everything on it," Lorenz told CBS News' Vladimir Duthiers.
Lorenz explained that people "max out in terms of content consumption" and get bored of whatever media they're used to.
Lorenz said she saw a lot of teens try to relieve boredom on their phones by creating a meme account, making funny videos or rearranging all the applications on their phones.
"Apathy and boredom is so core to the teen experience that no matter what, you're going to get bored at looking at whatever. The internet, theoretically, you can just go on webpages forever and discover new communities forever, but I think you get maxed out on media consumption and you've sort of reached your limit on what you want to do in front of your screen," Lorenz said.
She said parents can help kids find ways to alleviate boredom both on and off their phones. The key is to be an active creator instead of a passive viewer.
"I think it's about producing something and creating something instead of just consuming. I think that is more inherently engaging and more positive experience," she said. "For parents, I would say, 'go make a video.' One girl made a whole tour of her house like it was being sold on 'House Hunters' and she shot it all and edited on her phone, and that was her way of relieving her boredom."
