The average person spends more than 11 hours a day engaging with digital media. Boredom can actually be beneficial, according to author Michael Wolraich. He argues that when you're bored, your brain is able to rest inward and create new ideas. But he says we lose the social aspect of our human experience if we don't engage in it.
Journalist and author Michael Easter talks about his book The Comfort Crisis with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Easter thinks modern life is too easy, too comfortable. To be healthy, he says, we need to move out of our comfort zones and every once in a while try to do something, especially something physically demanding, that we didn't think was possible. Easter discusses rising levels of anxiety and depression in the West and why taking on challenges can be part of the solution.