Not complying with social distancing and not wearing the mask is not a behavior of immoral or rebellious people, it could simply be of people who tend to boredom, in addition to other factors.
New research shows a link between politics, boredom and non-compliance with public health rules, specifically suggesting that people who are more prone to boredom and who are socially conservative are more likely to break public health rules .
Tendency to boredom and conservatism
People who find these measures a threat to their identity, and who suffer greatly from boredom , find that breaking the rules helps them reestablish a sense of meaning and identity.
For the study, the researchers asked more than 900 people to answer questions about boredom, political ideology, and compliance with public health measures. They then applied a variety of statistical analysis techniques to explore the relationships that underlie these elements.
As James Danckert , professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo, explains:
Many of the restrictions have become highly politicized and many of the messages from governments have focused on personal responsibility. But this can turn into finger pointing and blaming, and most of us recoil from that. What we need is to promote our shared values: the things we all have in common and the positive things we can take back if we all come together. Boredom can be difficult for some people to deal with and that can have serious consequences for an individual and for society as a whole. Boredom is not a trivial experience, it is worth paying attention to.