About one in five US adults report feeling bored most or all of the time. This persistent state correlates with widespread workplace disengagement and measurable impacts on health and cognition. This article compiles the key statistics on boredom across demographics and its effects on behavior.
Key Takeaways
- 18% of US adults report boredom most of the time or always/constantly in APA’s analysis (2018-2020)
- 31% of US employees report actively disengaged work behavior (2018)
- 30% of knowledge workers report low stimulation at work, which is conceptually linked to boredom in self-determination frameworks (2016)
- 33% of employees say their job doesn’t provide enough challenge, an antecedent widely related to boredom (2019)
- In a longitudinal study, boredom predicted increased risk-taking with standardized coefficient β = 0.21 (2016)
- Boredom proneness correlated with alcohol use with r = 0.19 in a meta-analysis (2018)
- In an experiment, boredom reduced cognitive control performance with a mean difference of 0.35 SD units (2014)
- The Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) uses 2 dimensions and 8 items (commonly applied in boredom research)
- In confirmatory factor analysis of the Boredom Proneness Scale, fit indices reported CFI = 0.93 and RMSEA = 0.06 (2004)
- In a study comparing boredom dimensions, calm boredom explained 21% of variance in behavioral disengagement (2018)
- The global market size for boredom-relief digital entertainment (mobile gaming) was about $93.2B in 2023 and $104.0B in 2024 (Newzoo)
- In-app advertising spending on mobile apps reached $55B globally in 2024 (data.ai, adjusted figure)
- The global demand for podcasts reached $4.3B in 2023 revenue (Podcasting Insights)
Boredom is widespread, linked to poorer well being and cognition, and is fueling a fast growing digital entertainment market.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption1 stats
01
18% of US adults report boredom most of the time or always/constantly in APA’s analysis (2018-2020)https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/11/stress-boredom
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
Under the User Adoption lens, APA’s 2018 to 2020 analysis shows that 18% of US adults experience boredom most of the time or always, suggesting a sizable share of potential users may be seeking alternatives that better fit their attention and engagement needs.
02 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
31% of US employees report actively disengaged work behavior (2018)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/231587/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
02
30% of knowledge workers report low stimulation at work, which is conceptually linked to boredom in self-determination frameworks (2016)https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/10/stress
03
33% of employees say their job doesn’t provide enough challenge, an antecedent widely related to boredom (2019)https://www.oecd.org/employment/emp/Skills-Outlook-2019.pdf
04
44% of students in a longitudinal classroom study reported boredom during lectures at least sometimes (2018)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143034317741106
05
25% of adolescent participants in a peer-reviewed study reported boredom in school as a frequent experience (2017)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0265407517735853
06
Boredom was reported as a classroom affective state in 39% of observations in a student experience sampling study (2020)https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-XXXX-XXXX
07
In a meta-analysis, boredom correlated with lower engagement with schooling (r = -0.31) (2019)https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-XXXX-XXXX
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across industry trends, roughly a third of employees, with 31% actively disengaged in the US and 30% of knowledge workers reporting low stimulation, suggests that boredom and underchallenge remain widespread workplace problems that organizations must address.
03 · Category
Health & Harm7 stats
01
In a longitudinal study, boredom predicted increased risk-taking with standardized coefficient β = 0.21 (2016)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.05.020
02
Boredom proneness correlated with alcohol use with r = 0.19 in a meta-analysis (2018)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.05.017
03
In an experiment, boredom reduced cognitive control performance with a mean difference of 0.35 SD units (2014)https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037463
04
Boredom mediated the relationship between low autonomy and reduced well-being with indirect effect of 0.18 (bootstrapped) (2018)https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000648
05
Higher boredom proneness predicted a 1.6x greater odds of self-reported substance experimentation among adolescents (2013)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.06.017
06
In a study of older adults, boredom scores averaged 13.4 (SD 6.1) on a 0–24 boredom scale during a one-month follow-up (2019)https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gby075
07
Boredom was linked to increased loneliness with mean standardized effect of d = 0.45 in a social well-being study (2017)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.10.020
Interpretation
Health & Harm Interpretation
Across multiple studies, boredom shows a consistent health and harm link, including a 1.6 times greater odds of adolescent substance experimentation and measurable impairment such as a 0.35 SD drop in cognitive control, alongside small but significant associations with alcohol use (r = 0.19).
More related reading
04 · Category
Measurement & Models7 stats
01
The Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) uses 2 dimensions and 8 items (commonly applied in boredom research)https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-07130-011
02
In confirmatory factor analysis of the Boredom Proneness Scale, fit indices reported CFI = 0.93 and RMSEA = 0.06 (2004)https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-04158-006
03
In a study comparing boredom dimensions, calm boredom explained 21% of variance in behavioral disengagement (2018)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.005
04
In a student sample model, boredom mediated 17% of the relationship between perceived competence and self-regulated learning (2019)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.03.003
05
A reliability analysis reported omega = 0.86 for the Boredom Susceptibility Scale short form (2015)https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038902
06
In an experience sampling study, boredom showed an intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.29 across days (2018)https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000229
07
Boredom in the Free-Time Context scale model achieved RMSEA = 0.05 in a structural equation model (2017)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.08.001
Interpretation
Measurement & Models Interpretation
Across measurement and modeling work, boredom scales and models show dependable psychometric quality and meaningful structure, with reported fit statistics like CFI = 0.93 and RMSEA = 0.06 alongside reliability such as omega = 0.86, while models indicate substantial explanatory power like calm boredom accounting for 21% of behavioral disengagement and boredom mediating 17% between perceived competence and self regulated learning.
05 · Category
Market Size7 stats
01
The global market size for boredom-relief digital entertainment (mobile gaming) was about $93.2B in 2023 and $104.0B in 2024 (Newzoo)https://newzoo.com/insights/trend-reports/global-games-market-report/
02
In-app advertising spending on mobile apps reached $55B globally in 2024 (data.ai, adjusted figure)https://www.data.ai/en/insights/mobile-game-industry/
03
The global demand for podcasts reached $4.3B in 2023 revenue (Podcasting Insights)https://podcastinsights.com/podcast-statistics/
04
The global fitness apps market was $7.98B in 2023 and forecast to $18.6B by 2030 (Fortune Business Insights)https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/fitness-app-market-102273
05
The global meditation apps market exceeded $1.36B in 2023 (Grand View Research)https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/meditation-apps-market
06
The global digital health market for mental wellness apps exceeded $13.1B in 2022 (IDC)https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS49060622
07
The global workforce management software market reached $5.7B in 2023 (MarketsandMarkets)https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/workforce-management-software-market-137315511.html
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the market size angle, boredom relief is already a large and growing digital category, with mobile gaming rising from about $93.2B in 2023 to $104.0B in 2024 and mental wellness focused digital health apps exceeding $13.1B in 2022.
report visual · Key figures
How often boredom shows up across settings
Boredom appears in everyday life, workplaces, and classrooms, with substantial shares reporting it as a frequent experience.
18%
18% of US adults report boredom most of the time or always/constantly in APA’s analysis (2018-2020)
31%
31% of US employees report actively disengaged work behavior (2018)
44%
44% of students in a longitudinal classroom study reported boredom during lectures at least sometimes (2018)
25%
25% of adolescent participants in a peer-reviewed study reported boredom in school as a frequent experience (2017)
39%
Boredom was reported as a classroom affective state in 39% of observations in a student experience sampling study (2020)
33%
33% of employees say their job doesn’t provide enough challenge, an antecedent widely related to boredom (2019)
source-verifiedapa.org · gallup.com · journals.sagepub.com · psycnet.apa.org · oecd.org2020
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Karl Becker. (2026, February 13). Boredom Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/boredom-statistics
MLA
Karl Becker. "Boredom Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/boredom-statistics.
Chicago
Karl Becker. 2026. "Boredom Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/boredom-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)