There was a time when being busy, unreachable, and offline was actually normal. A walk outside, a trip to the supermarket, even an evening at home meant you could disappear without explanation and just do whatever it is you wanted to do. But today, silence is suspicious. A delayed reply feels like a problem. Purposeful. Notifications follow us everywhere – buzzing during meals, at school, at 2am, and even in the moments that should belong to us. We live connected, but also constantly exposed. And although instant communication feels convenient, there are hidden costs to always being available. 

We live in an age where boredom has almost disappeared: social media has filled up our lives and brought plenty of distractions. The moment we feel even a flicker of stillness; we reach instinctively for our phones. There is always a video to watch, a message to reply to, a feed to scroll, a distraction waiting to fill the silence. For the first time in human history, young people can go weeks – even months – without ever sitting with their own thoughts. It feels harmless, even helpful, to have entertainment on speed dial. But beneath the convenience lies a quiet and surprising danger: a generation losing the ability to be bored.

Growing up has always been a slow, uneven process – a long journey shaped by mistakes, curiosity, boredom, and discovery. But today, that journey feels like it’s been sped up, and those memorable, offline moments, stolen. The world expects young people to be older, wiser, and more accomplished long before adulthood actually arrives. And while some take pride in being “ahead” and “mature” at an early age, there are hidden costs to a childhood cut short. 

After almost 14 years of school – and existence for that matter – my mind naturally harks back to a simpler time; a time where your next biggest worry was which mould to use in the sandpit or whether you could be the last to clap in assembly. 
Where’s this all coming from, then? And why now? 

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Siobhan (you may have heard/seen me around the school – for some reason everyone has) and I am a seasoned lyricist, but I use that term jokingly because the accuracy and quality of my lyrics are sometimes questionable. I’m sure that’s just what you want to hear when reading a manual-esque article on how to start your own lyrical journey, but sadly it is the truth that a set of lyrics can sometimes make you feel like a genius, or at other times make you feel like you don’t even understand English, and this is true no matter if you are a novice or an expert.