Teenagers tend to be bored for three reasons:

First, their brains respond to positive experiences differently from kids’ brains and from adults’ brains.  Littler kids get a rush of feel-good chemistry from dopamine every time something good happens. Win a game, eat a cookie, see a kite—Hurray! They’re washed over with happy chemistry.  Adults’ brains also get washed with dopamine when good things happen, but our brains tend to dole it out according to how big of a deal it is; big deal, big rush; little deal, little rush.  Teens, on the other hand, have an all-or-nothing response. Either they are overwhelmed with feel-good chemistry or there’s no feel-good response.  Fortunately, they outgrow this, but it takes a while. In the meantime, they act jaded because, temporarily, they are.

Second, many teens’ busy schedules are filled with things other people think are a good idea.  They are taking music lessons for instruments they don’t enjoy, racking up resume bullet points for activities that don’t interest them, and basically spending far too much time every day (in their opinion) doing what other people think they should do.  Teens who select their own activities tend to complain less of boredom.  Of course, adults may need to do some encouraging...because of reason #1.  A teen may select what seems like a perfect-fit activity, have a negative experience with it once or twice, and try to withdraw.  By learning the self-discipline skill of sticking with it, the teen may be able to overcome that negativity and begin enjoying the activity again.

Third, teens are notoriously bad at budgeting their time.  The so-called “executive function” of the brain is in disarray in the mid-teens, so teens’ ability to weigh short-term pleasure versus long-term goals is stunted.  One strategy that has held up in research is having teens keep detailed journals about how they are spending their time, how much they are enjoying each activity, etc.  It’s often eye-opening when they look at a few days’ worth of entries and realize that they spent hours doing something that was mildly interesting and fun but then didn’t have the time for truly desired activities.

Now what?  We’re left with blasé teens who expect us to fix the problem.  We can’t, but we can help.  Start with the journal about time  spent —including sleep, fixing the hairstyle, checking social networking sites, etc.  Then consider number of activities, who selected them, what the purpose of those activities might be, and whether a change is indicated.   Also consider if there are any health problems, sleep deprivation (less than 9 hours a night would be a problem), or signs of burnout or depression.  Over-extended, exhausted teens will have poor judgment, be moody and stressed.  Your teen may need a break, spending time in nature with family and friends, catching up on some rest, and getting back in touch with a less-anxiety-provoking routine.

If you are concerned about your teen’s level of stress, anger, anxiety, depression or other behavioral issues, please consult a professional. -Dr. Lori Puterbaugh, LMHC, LMFT