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Comment by jbob2000 | Hacker News Reader

jbob2000·

Boredom is a double-edged sword; it can lead to creativity, but it can also lead to drug and alcohol abuse. Small towns and counties are rife with substance abuse and everyone will tell you it's because "there's nothing better to do".

If boredom can be reasonably structured, then I think it's a good thing, but unfettered boredom is a bit risky in my opinion.

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My personal view is that there is always something better to do, but they may not be aware of those things or have been taught/conditioned to avoid them.

Reading, drawing, hiking, writing, building something, any other creative pursuit.

Realistically though I understand many of those better things to do might fall under the umbrella of things kids have been taught or conditioned to avoid for various reasons, both unintentionally and intentionally.

But this is what happens when "intellectual" is used as a slur.

Everyone tells you that to avoid responsibility for it being a cultural issue. I mean, do people seriously believe that there is little or no drug/alcohol abuse in urban areas because there's always stuff to do?

What explains the (sometimes heavy) alcohol consumption when fishing, hunting, working on cars, snowmobiling(!!!), off-road driving(!!!), etc.?

Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

Love that saying. I use a different version, "The devil makes work for idle hands".

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