Raising "dogs" and cross-dressing, what else can college students do when they are bored

　　In the face of boredom, we can also do this: learn a new skill, develop a new hobby, practice mindfulness, seek companionship, and feel meaning in connection with the outside world.

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　　This year's college students are becoming more and more incomprehensible.

Some people keep "dogs" in the dormitory, which are obviously made of cardboard boxes, but they also have to be decently equipped with food bowls and dog food, and they have to compare with the dormitory next door to see whose dog is more "good"; Some people staged dormitory cross-dressing shows, some boys made women's clothes out of plastic bags, and posed more enchanting poses than girls; some wrote "crazy literature" on Weibo and Moments I don’t even know about cactus, so don’t say it’s papaya, okay? Again, this orange is called kiwi”…

　　What is this doing?

　　It is normal for everyone not to understand the behavior of this year's college students. After all, this year's college students don't understand what college life should be like.

In the past few years, college students may take online classes every now and then, and few of the legendary masters can be seen; there is no "Hundred Regiment War" club recruitment and activities; they cannot enter and leave the school gate at will, and sometimes they cannot even enter and exit the dormitory building at will; Even in a big city, you can't watch exhibitions, listen to concerts, and visit places of interest... It's too boring to stay on campus like this.

　　According to the Oxford Dictionary, boredom is a negative emotional experience that people experience in their daily lives due to lack of activity and loss of interest.

This emotional state is not new. Wang Yi of the Han Dynasty once wrote a poem "upset and bored".

In this state, it is very normal for everyone to want to organize some activities and have some fun. Wang Yi chose to "go out for games under strict conditions", while college students who could not travel chose to raise "dogs" and dress up. ...

　　Although everyone will say "my good spirit is very good" (derived from "my spirit is very good" by changing the word order) when writing crazy literature, it is also a joke when they say "the mental state of this year's college students is worrying" , but the negative impact of boredom on people's lives cannot be underestimated.

　　Boredom can have a negative impact on human cognition.

People who are bored tend to be distracted, prone to cognitive errors, cognitive needs will also decline, and are unwilling to think and reason, so boring people are often unable to do a good job at the task at hand; at the same time, those who cannot do tasks well A sense of inefficiency and meaninglessness will lead to more boredom, forming a vicious circle.

　　Boredom is often accompanied by various negative emotions, affecting people's mental state.

Many studies have found that people who are easily bored are also more likely to have negative emotions such as depression and anxiety, as well as psychological tendencies such as compulsion and interpersonal sensitivity.

An article in The Lancet pointed out that in 2021, the epidemic will cause the global prevalence of anxiety and depression to rise by more than a quarter, which is not unrelated to boredom.

　　Bored people may engage in bad behavior driven by negative cognitions and emotions.

Raising "dogs", cross-dressing, and crazy literature are all things that college students are doing for their own entertainment and do not affect others; but studies have found that boredom and aggressive behavior, gambling addiction, truancy, drug abuse, and driving violations etc. are significantly correlated, so we should actively regulate boredom to avoid serious negative effects of boredom.

　　Besides what these college students already do mentioned at the beginning, how else can we regulate when we are bored?

　　We can practice mindfulness and cultivate a way of life that is mindful of the present moment.

Boredom is often strongly related to inattention and affects each other; when we can focus on one thing, what we feel is engagement, a sense of efficacy, and even a flow experience instead of boredom.

If you don’t want to practice meditation too deliberately, you can even just observe an autumn tree, look at the yellow-green layers of the leaves, through the light and shadow falling from the sparse branches and leaves, touch the trunk, and feel the rough texture of the bark. In the sense of the moment, if we have a place to focus on, we will not be so bored.

　　We can also make changes and bring a little freshness into our lives.

Psychological research has found that repetitive simple work and life can make people bored; to adjust boredom, one must try to jump out of simple repetition.

For example, you can learn a little new knowledge and skills, and develop a new hobby.

The Internet has made it very convenient to learn. Whether you want to listen to legal lectures, appreciate poetry, or want to learn how to bake cakes or dance hip-hop, there are a lot of resources on the Internet, and you can learn and try new things without leaving home.

　　In addition to adjusting ourselves, we can also seek companionship and feel meaning in connection with the outside world.

These companionships can come from friends around us, who participate in activities and share happiness together, which makes us feel at ease; they can also come from family and friends connected through the Internet, who share interesting things around us with people far away, which can bring us a sense of companionship and freshness at the same time.

　　Try something new with the people around you, and invest in your current life. I wish you overcome boredom and have a life that you can control.

　　Yin Jinxiu Source: China Youth Daily