The only excruciating boredom I can remember was when I was at work. The worst was when I had nothing to do but still had to be there.

Good point. Years ago I took a history class in which the professor stressed how escape from boredom was a once a huge motivating force to go to war, join crusades, commit adrenaline-provoking crimes, and all other sorts of mischief just to avoid the mind-numbing effects of constant boredom. Constant high levels of boredom can drive people a little crazy. In fact, prisoners in solitary confinement often do go crazy. I doubt many people in our post-modern society can really appreciate that. Today we suffer from the opposite, namely over-stimulation from a constant barrage of sensory and data overload.

A famous riotgrrrl once said “if you’re bored, it’s cuz you’re boring” ?

I am quite frequently bored. I think it is more to do with the situation you are in and what you can do about it than what is available to interest or entertain you.

Even with these things, my mind gets bored, so I just started my first college class, for the mental stimulation.

I think that boredom is relative and contextual. I’m sure but there are probably plenty of people who are bored today just like there were plenty of people who were bored 60 years ago. Although it makes me wonder if boredom is a modern invention beyond the boredom of youth I mean. I was about to say mankind has always struggled with boredom but now that I think about it I don’t really know that. Did the ancient Greeks or the ancient Romans or the Aztec cultures deal with boredom? I’m not sure. Did our ancestors 200 years ago deal with boredom or did we somewhere along the line along the way make boredom an “issue” to struggle with?

I was never bored and was always involved with something either playing racquet ball at the gym, traveling throughout Europe, socializing with friends, working on the house, writing letters (with paper) struggling with my relationships and on and on. Now, it seems the virtual world has actually cut down on my activities and I don't even use my mobile phone except for calls. Sometimes I feel I have to wean myself off of this world to get back into action (maybe this summer).

I always had a problem reading and even with only three TV channels living in the country as a child I was never bored.In fact there were never enough hours in the day. As I grew older were lucky, never unemployed and working long hours in a job I enjoyed . I think technology has been a benefit to the house bound and for access to knowledge.

I think I was lucky because there was always books in the house, although I do remember one school holiday saying that I was bored and my mum told me to get a paper round! First step on the career ladder!