Almost one in five US adults say they are bored most of the time, and the figure lines up with workplace disengagement that is just as persistent. Yet boredom is not only an emotional label, it is linked to lower schooling engagement, weaker cognitive control, and even greater loneliness. We pulled together the key findings across adults, students, and experiments so you can see where boredom stays quiet and where it quietly drives 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)
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
For user adoption, the fact that 18% of US adults report feeling bored most of the time or always/constantly in APA’s 2018 to 2020 analysis signals a sizable audience ready to engage with boredom-reducing solutions.
02 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
31% of US employees report actively disengaged work behavior (2018)
02
30% of knowledge workers report low stimulation at work, which is conceptually linked to boredom in self-determination frameworks (2016)
03
33% of employees say their job doesn’t provide enough challenge, an antecedent widely related to boredom (2019)
04
44% of students in a longitudinal classroom study reported boredom during lectures at least sometimes (2018)
05
25% of adolescent participants in a peer-reviewed study reported boredom in school as a frequent experience (2017)
06
Boredom was reported as a classroom affective state in 39% of observations in a student experience sampling study (2020)
07
In a meta-analysis, boredom correlated with lower engagement with schooling (r = -0.31) (2019)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across industry trends, boredom appears as a widespread workplace and learning issue, with around one third of people reporting disengagement or low challenge such as 31% of US employees in 2018 and 33% of employees in 2019, suggesting organizations should treat boredom as a meaningful driver of reduced engagement.
03 · Category
Health & Harm7 stats
01
In a longitudinal study, boredom predicted increased risk-taking with standardized coefficient β = 0.21 (2016)
02
Boredom proneness correlated with alcohol use with r = 0.19 in a meta-analysis (2018)
03
In an experiment, boredom reduced cognitive control performance with a mean difference of 0.35 SD units (2014)
04
Boredom mediated the relationship between low autonomy and reduced well-being with indirect effect of 0.18 (bootstrapped) (2018)
05
Higher boredom proneness predicted a 1.6x greater odds of self-reported substance experimentation among adolescents (2013)
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)
07
Boredom was linked to increased loneliness with mean standardized effect of d = 0.45 in a social well-being study (2017)
Interpretation
Health & Harm Interpretation
Across these Health and Harm findings, boredom shows a consistent link to risk behaviors and poorer functioning, with effects ranging from β = 0.21 for increased risk taking and r = 0.19 for alcohol use to a sizable d = 0.45 increase in loneliness and a 0.35 SD drop in cognitive control.
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)
02
In confirmatory factor analysis of the Boredom Proneness Scale, fit indices reported CFI = 0.93 and RMSEA = 0.06 (2004)
03
In a study comparing boredom dimensions, calm boredom explained 21% of variance in behavioral disengagement (2018)
04
In a student sample model, boredom mediated 17% of the relationship between perceived competence and self-regulated learning (2019)
05
A reliability analysis reported omega = 0.86 for the Boredom Susceptibility Scale short form (2015)
06
In an experience sampling study, boredom showed an intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.29 across days (2018)
07
Boredom in the Free-Time Context scale model achieved RMSEA = 0.05 in a structural equation model (2017)
Interpretation
Measurement & Models Interpretation
Across these Measurement and Models studies, boredom constructs generally show acceptable measurement quality and model fit, with examples like CFI of 0.93 and RMSEA of 0.06 in confirmatory factor analysis and RMSEA as low as 0.05 in a structural equation model, while variance explained in key behavioral outcomes ranges from 21% for calm boredom to 17% when boredom mediates links to 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)
02
In-app advertising spending on mobile apps reached $55B globally in 2024 (data.ai, adjusted figure)
03
The global demand for podcasts reached $4.3B in 2023 revenue (Podcasting Insights)
04
The global fitness apps market was $7.98B in 2023 and forecast to $18.6B by 2030 (Fortune Business Insights)
05
The global meditation apps market exceeded $1.36B in 2023 (Grand View Research)
06
The global digital health market for mental wellness apps exceeded $13.1B in 2022 (IDC)
07
The global workforce management software market reached $5.7B in 2023 (MarketsandMarkets)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
From the Market Size perspective, boredom-relief digital entertainment is already huge with the mobile gaming market rising from $93.2B in 2023 to $104.0B in 2024, and that momentum is reinforced by related mental wellness and engagement segments such as fitness apps growing from $7.98B in 2023 toward $18.6B by 2030 and meditation apps topping $1.36B in 2023.
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 · attribution is report-level
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)