Before the pandemic Andy Hsu, 29, filled his time with concerts, shows and drinks with friends. But when San Francisco locked down in mid-March, the software engineer was stuck in his apartment. He turned to the only one of his hobbies left: video games. But after a while, even his favourite game, League of Legends, wasn’t satisfying. Next, he tried a little retail therapy, buying a Herman Miller chair and a karaoke set. But he couldn’t keep that up for long. (“Not exactly sustainable on the wallet,” he says.) 

Then in June, Hsu’s roommates moved out, leaving the self-described extrovert to live alone. By himself, the boredom grew. “I definitely don’t do too well when there’s too much down time,” he says. 

Hsu is one of many in a pandemic-induced ennui. It’s hard to say how many people around the world are languishing in boredom, but one survey of 3,500 people under lockdown in Italy showed that boredom was one of the most commonly reported negative psychological effects of the quarantine. At the beginning, when the pandemic was fresh, lockdown was new and Zoom stock was still trading at less than $200 (£146) a share, there were plenty of activities to try. But that was nearly a year ago – and, as the pandemic drags on, boredom has set in. 

At face value, boredom can appear to be a trivial problem. Compared to rampant infection, job losses and death, griping about a few unfilled hours can seem a bit self-centred. But boredom may lead to some very real problems. Researchers at the University of Waterloo and Duke University found that people who are prone to boredom have been more likely to break social distancing rules and hold social gatherings.