Why Do You Hate Silence So Much?
In Brazil, teenagers are averaging over 9 hours of daily screentime — much more than a third of their time. With all the noise and constant stimulation people receive in their daily lives, moments of true silence have become extremely rare and uncomfortable, its unfamiliarity has made it extremely difficult to experience, leading to even more stimulation and noise everyday. Often, people have a hard time falling asleep due to racing thoughts, because that is the only time their mind has had time to rest. However, sitting in silence and experiencing boredom is related to positive mental effects, exacerbating the effects of avoiding silence so much.
Today, everyone lives in constant noise, our everyday lives are consumed by constant stimulation. This global need for stimulation can be seen in the shift to shorter form content, the hundreds of notifications we receive everyday, multitasking with screens, or packed schedules. Nearly 95% of teenagers use at least one platform of short form content, whether it's TikTok, Instagram, or Youtube. The popularity of short form content comes from the prioritization of attention over information, shorter videos have quicker engagement, contributing to its captivation and loop of shorter attention span and social media addiction. The facility of opening social media wherever we are allows it to fit itself into every break or gap of free time in our schedules. Shortened attention spans also lead to multitasking, or attempting to, for every activity, even when we are already doing something we feel the need for more, having to do something on our phone while watching a movie, or putting something in the background while we work. This habit overloads the brain's capacity and worsens the attention span that is likely already destroyed. Additionally, the accessibility of phones and number of notifications we receive everyday contribute to its addictiveness and the constant noise of our lives. The constant vibration of our phone, or pings we receive throughout the day leave us in a state of alertness by triggering a stress response and dopamine loops. Even when we are not on our phone, it is making our mind alert, and unconsciously stressing us out.
People's days are already quite full, with school, work, studies, activities, social interactions, etc. Which on its own is too noisy, but with the addition of the other things added to our lives, it leaves us with not a single moment of true silence in their days. Most days, the only time our minds truly have time to relax is when we turn off our phone, trying to sleep. However, this break in the constant noise of our lives leads to racing thoughts when we’re trying to sleep. The stress and busyness from the day piled with the lack of true mental breaks makes our minds restless when trying to sleep, releasing stress hormones and preventing deep sleep. This is the only time our minds can debrief, leading to insomnia. This is why several people like to fall asleep to calm podcasts, movies, ASMR videos, or music; it allows us to relax and fall asleep while preventing our mind from having time to think.
We try so hard to fill up every single moment of our day with whatever we can find to do because of how much we want to avoid silence. Especially with the constant noise in our lives, any single mental break allows our minds to completely unload everything at that single moment. It puts people in the position of having to hear their internal thoughts without any external stimulus, letting them think about all their uncomfortable worries and anxieties, their uncertainties, regrets, and personal reflections. These thoughts are usually unsettling, and force people to reflect on their lives when that will likely lead to uncomfortability. In fact, people avoid sitting with their thoughts so much that they would rather experience physical pain than sit with their thoughts. A Psychologist from the University of Virginia created a study to test this, individuals were placed in a lab for 15 minutes without their belongings with the option to give themselves a small electric shock. The results of the study showed that 67% of men and 25% of women chose to inflict the shock on themselves. People try so hard to run away from their own minds that they find it more comfortable to experience physical pain than to remember their anxieties.
Moments of silence are extremely valuable in our lives, moments with no external input usually contain creativity and good ideas. It is quite common to have very interesting thoughts and new ideas during silent times such as showering or before falling asleep. The brain is able to process information so much easier when it is not focused on a task. Additionally, racing thoughts at night could be mitigated with regular quiet time during the day, reducing the accumulated stress and having time for reflection other than the night. The problem in avoiding silence so much is that we can't repress anxiety and worry all the time they pop into our minds because they won't disappear, they will only resurface later. If we avoid sitting with our thoughts so much, it will become increasingly harder to tolerate them next time. The part of silence that makes it so uncomfortable is its unfamiliarity; however, allowing ourselves to experience it allows us to find comfort in reflection..
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