Being alone with ourselves can be a dangerous activity, especially in an age where we can be connected 24 hours a day. According to psychologists at the University of Virginia, we prefer to be given small doses of electricity rather than sitting around doing nothing, delving into the depths of our “self.”
This curious experiment shows that most people hate being alone with their thoughts, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. In fact, if we are left alone, without a mobile phone, tablet, a book or music, our mind starts to wander and this experience can be so unpleasant that 67% of men and 25% of women opted to receive an electric shock.
What happened in the experiment?
To arrive at these results, the researchers recruited a group of people and, after putting away their possessions, asked them to stay alone in a room where there was no ornamentation that could become a distraction. The researchers simply asked them to entertain themselves with their thoughts for a period of 6 to 15 minutes. After that time, the participants were asked to rate how they had felt about the experience. Half of the people responded that they had not enjoyed those minutes alone with themselves.
Given these results, the psychologists wondered whether their aversion to solitude would be so great that they would prefer a painful stimulus. So they went a step further and asked people if they preferred to be alone for a while or experience painful electrical impulses in the form of small electroshocks, which they could administer themselves by pressing a button. At this point there was no doubt: many people prefer to have something to do, even if it is unpleasant, rather than being alone with their thoughts.
Why do we shy away from being alone with ourselves?
Researchers say that this kind of fear of emptiness is not a consequence of changes in today’s society, as it has been observed in both adults and young people. However, it is difficult to believe that the frenetic pace that today’s society has imposed on us and the influx of technological gadgets that allow us to stay entertained at all times have nothing to do with it.
Some reasons why we may feel that this experience is unpleasant are:
– Because we have been taught that “time is money” and that doing nothing is neither productive nor beneficial.
– Because we are not used to it and, like many new things, at first they can be scary or annoying.
– Because it involves a process of introspection and we may not like what we discover about ourselves.
– Because worries, doubts and fears appear that make us feel bad and we do not know how to control them.
– Because we can’t concentrate on anything particularly interesting and we get bored, which, in a way, also implies that our inner world is very boring.
Everyone should draw their own conclusions…
Reference:
Wilson, T. D. et. Al. (2014) Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind. Science; 345(6192): 75-77.
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