--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves…" description: "\"We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves against boredom with mobile phones in any given moment of free time.\" — Alex Bogusky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/alex-bogusky-39356_boredom_we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-agains_310975.png" --- # We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves against boredom with… ![“We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves against boredom with mobile phones in any given moment of free time.” quote by Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/alex-bogusky-39356_boredom_we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-agains_310975.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/alex-bogusky-39356_boredom_we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-agains_310975.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/alex-bogusky-39356_boredom_we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-agains_310975.png) > “We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves against boredom with mobile phones in any given moment of free time.” [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People use phones to fill idle moments, turning boredom into constant stimulation. **In simple terms:** Phones replace boredom with endless distraction. Key Takeaway Limit phone use to reclaim free time. Themes boredom technology distraction Mood anxious restless Type observational critical When to use this quote - commuting - waiting rooms - breaks - social gatherings Key Concepts self‑medication instant gratification Questions to Reflect On - How does constant phone use affect your attention span? - What activities could replace phone scrolling? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance can reduce ability to tolerate silence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Boredom Mobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom-mobile-2951897/) [Free time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-time/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Medicate Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicate-boredom-2951896/) [Mobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mobile/) [Mobile Phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mobile-phone/) [Mobile phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mobile-phones/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Medicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-medicate-1665518/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [Our mobile phones have become the greatest spy on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/our-mobile-phones-have-become-the-greatest-spy-on-the-planet/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) > [In 1999, I said that in about a decade we would see technologies such as self-driving cars and mobile phones that could answer your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/in-1999-i-said-that-in-about-a-decade-we-would-see-technologies-such/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The mobile phone... is a tool for those whose professions require a fast response, such as doctors or plumbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-mobile-phone-is-a-tool-for-those-whose-professions-require-a-fast/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [For his thirtieth birthday he had filled a whole night-club off Regent Street; people had been queuing on the pavement to get in. 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She”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leadbeater/one-thing-about-the-advent-of-mobile-phones-she-reflected-they-make/) [David Leadbeater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leadbeater/) > [I used to go out wearing any old rubbish, no make-up, nothing, but since mobile phones, that has all had to stop. People do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/i-used-to-go-out-wearing-any-old-rubbish-no-make-up-nothing-but-since/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [In Africa it's difficult to carry the money, it's difficult to have a banking system with tellers, with distribution of cash. So they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-levy/in-africa-it-s-difficult-to-carry-the-money-it-s-difficult-to-have-a/) [Maurice Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-levy/) > [Have I got a black book? Yes, it's called a mobile phone. I do get offers. There is no shortage of people if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/have-i-got-a-black-book-yes-it-s-called-a-mobile-phone-i-do-get/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [Sending a message on a mobile phone is not the most natural of ways to communicate. The keypad isn't linguistically sensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/sending-a-message-on-a-mobile-phone-is-not-the-most-natural-of-ways/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [I don't have a Facebook page. I don't use Twitter. I don't give anyone a lot to grab onto. Sometimes, I even take out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-don-t-have-a-facebook-page-i-don-t-use-twitter-i-don-t-give-anyone/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [Outside the classroom, the use of mobile phones distracts from healthy exercise and good old-fashioned play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-williamson/outside-the-classroom-the-use-of-mobile-phones-distracts-from-healthy/) [Gavin Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-williamson/) > [Many students don't really like it (fashion). If they don't like it, they won't be able to tell you who the stylists are or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/many-students-don-t-really-like-it-fashion-if-they-don-t-like-it-they/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [There is a generation of skimmers. It's not that they don't want to read in-depth content, but they want to evaluate what the content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-d-aloisio/there-is-a-generation-of-skimmers-it-s-not-that-they-don-t-want-to/) [Nick D'Aloisio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-d-aloisio/) ## More by Alex Bogusky > [I am expecting that consumers are going to continue and exert power and influence. The idea of radical transparency is something that few brands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/i-am-expecting-that-consumers-are-going-to-continue-and-exert-power/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [The old paradigm was pay to play. Now you get back what you authentically put in. You've got to be willing to play to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/the-old-paradigm-was-pay-to-play-now-you-get-back-what-you/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [Reinvent yourself. Repeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/reinvent-yourself-repeat/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [I'm convinced that the greatness that matters more is the greatness people achieve through helping each other, through collaborating, more than the greatness that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/i-m-convinced-that-the-greatness-that-matters-more-is-the-greatness/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [If you have to fear something, fear mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/if-you-have-to-fear-something-fear-mediocrity/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [Ideas are abundant. Practice giving your ideas away. If you hold onto ideas too tightly, you can convince people (and yourself) that you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/ideas-are-abundant-practice-giving-your-ideas-away-if-you-hold-onto/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [If you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/if-you-re-not-having-fun-you-re-doing-it-wrong/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [You create a fearful culture where you spend a lot of time looking at where you screwed up,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/you-create-a-fearful-culture-where-you-spend-a-lot-of-time-looking-at/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [Being a great company is the new brand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/being-a-great-company-is-the-new-brand/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) > [Fear is the mortal enemy of creativity, innovation, and happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/fear-is-the-mortal-enemy-of-creativity-innovation-and-happiness/) [Alex Bogusky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) [Explore all 11 Alex Bogusky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves against boredom with mobile phones in any given moment of free time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alex Bogusky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-against-boredom-with-mobile-phones/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boredom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-against-boredom-with-mobile-phones/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/alex-bogusky-39356_boredom_we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-agains_310975.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/alex-bogusky-39356_boredom_we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-agains_310975.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/alex-bogusky-39356_boredom_we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-agains_310975.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves against boredom with mobile phones in any given moment of free time.” — Alex Bogusky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alex Bogusky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bogusky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We try to 'self-medicate' ourselves against...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-against-boredom-with-mobile-phones/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bogusky/we-try-to-self-medicate-ourselves-against-boredom-with-mobile-phones/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```