Some things excite almost everyone—sports, trending TV shows, viral memes—but not everyone feels the same way. Sometimes what has people talking for hours can leave others completely uninterested, yawning through the hype. It’s funny how what thrills one person can totally bore someone else.
We asked the Bored Panda community to share the things that get most people excited but leave them utterly unimpressed. From everyday trends to pop culture crazes, these stories show that everyone’s “boring” button is a little different—and some of the answers might surprise you.
#1
The Kardashians, influencers, and marriage/dating reality shows.
#2
Football, soccer, and sportyball games in general.
#3
Going drinking at a club—everyone wants to get drunk and dance, and that's just not my thing.
#4
Harry Potter. It’s childish and stupid. Likewise with superhero movies. Seriously—I stopped getting into that stuff when I became a teenager.
#5
The beach. I can lie in the hot sun somewhere without seagulls, sand, or a bunch of other people.
#6
The whole “family” hype, and how some people have the audacity to lecture you on how to behave: “Family is everything, you should spend your holidays with your parents, you won’t have them forever, blood is thicker than water,” etc.
That may be true for some—those who had the fantastic chance to be raised in healthy, supportive families.
But not for those of us who grew up in toxic, a*****e families, facing domestic violence, and parents struggling with addictions or mental illnesses. Sometimes, abuse went so far that we experienced [unaliving] thoughts or even attempts.
For people like us, such families are—or were—a nightmare, and we’re still grappling with related traumas and complex PTSD. To my fellow survivors: big hug. Family is where you feel safe, not where you walk on eggshells. Do whatever it takes to protect your mental health and inner peace.
#7
Reality shows. They don’t bore me—I find them gross.
#8
Cities. I can handle visiting one for a few days—too many people, too much noise.
#9
Concerts: expensive. Noisy. Smelly. Overstimulating. And honestly, the album was better.
#10
Christmas. And New Year. Yay! Let’s all spend our time pretending to have fun with people we avoid the rest of the year.
#11
Horse racing.
#12
Camping. Why haul a bunch of stuff just to sit in the woods with bugs? I can sit around a campfire at home, with a fully functioning, bug-free bathroom just steps away. Why pay money to live like a homeless person for a few nights?
#13
The launch event for a new iPhone or sneakers—or whatever. Yaaaaaaawn…
#14
Amusement theme parks—where the idea of fun is paying a small fortune to stand in endless lines while being jostled by strangers who think 'personal space' is a myth.
The rides are basically overpriced torture devices designed to fling you around until you either vomit or achieve a fleeting sense of 'adrenaline' that everyone else seems to worship. Personally, I’d rather skip the whiplash.
The food? The worst cafeteria meal of your life, three times the normal price, served lukewarm on a plastic tray.
And the atmosphere? Oh, simply magical. Nothing says 'family fun' like being crammed into a sweaty crowd of people who look like they lost the will to live somewhere between the roller coaster queue and the fried-dough stand.
Overall: unnecessary stress, overpriced misery, and a soundtrack of distant screaming. Amusement parks truly are the Disneyland of bad decisions.
#15
I’m gonna get a lot of heat for this, but… Lord of the Rings (both books and movies). I know Tolkien and Peter Jackson are masters of their craft, I know the story is great, and I’m aware of the insane amount of hard work that went into it. I’ve just never managed to finish it—the pacing is an utter nightmare for my untreated ADHD (and I’m not exactly a TikTok brain).
#16
'Slebs.' I don’t care what they eat, what they wear, or where they go. Why is everyone so obsessed with them?
#17
Watching golf. Friends and family have told me it’s a mental game and extremely difficult to master; however, the slow pace has me yawning and bored to tears…
#18
Mega-cruises. Too many people who just want to party, get wasted, and act out. Mediocre food and entertainment. Expensive drinks. Excursions in a crowd, surrounded by people trying to sell you junk. It’s not the way to see the world.
#19
Babies. New mothers bring their babies to the break room at work to show them off, and everyone drops everything to coo at the tiny, human-shaped pukey-poop machines.
#20
Chocolate. I just don't understand the attraction.
#21
'Action' movies. Action scenes in a thriller, suspense, or adventure movie are fine. But the particular genre called 'action movie'—which includes all sorts of sub-genres like superhero, sci-fi, crime, etc.—bores me to tears. They are completely formulaic: chase scenes, a final showdown between the hero and the villain (or nuking baddies in outer space), ending with the hero(s) triumphant. What’s prominently missing is any kind of real plot. Please, spare me.
#22
Being part of weddings. My youngest daughter is getting married in a few months, and the best I can summon is mildly feigned interest. I do not want to dress shop. I do not want to pick venues or indulge in whatever other social hell is expected. I’m supposed to spend HOW much on a mother-of-the-bride dress? Oh hell no—a nice cocktail dress will do.
OH GODS! Is that high-priced tater sack made of satin or Satan? I can’t wear burgundy for fall colors? It’s the color of wine, which I won’t even be able to touch because I’ll be taking so many anxiety meds just to 'perform' publicly.
Not only do I have to worry about wearing heels after a decade, but now I’ve got to dance with my son-in-law, who’s 6' to my 5', WITH HEELS on. I didn’t even like my own d**n wedding.
#23
Professional sports. If I want to watch a bunch of guys try to score, I’ll go to a nightclub—which I also find abhorrent: too loud to talk, too crowded to relax, too competitive.
#24
People talking about food, posting about food, and shaming your food.
#25
Tik-Twittiot Influencergrams.
#26
Smalltalk.
#27
Dogs. No, I don’t care about what your dog did or how cute it is. Please do not show me pictures of your dog.
#28
Is it too late to add Taylor Swift?
#29
Superhero movies and comic books.
#30
Sermons—I could get a full night’s sleep and STILL nod off while the minister is preaching…
#31
People who 'foodstagram' everything they eat—it’s so common and perfunctory now. No need for social validation or recognition for every culinary experience; please, just enjoy your d**n meal.
#32
Religion. ANY religion. Don’t preach to me, don’t read me a sermon, and don’t tell me made-up stories about heaven and hell. There are no such places, no God, and no 'one true religion.' It’s all b****t—made up by people in the Stone Age to explain what they didn’t understand and to keep people in line. Those stories and made-up rules are still used to control people today.
#33
I can’t speak for everyone, but in my family, it’s watching variety shows. Any time my wife sits down to watch one, I decide to fold laundry or wash dishes.
#34
Sport games.
#35
Gambling. It’s not challenging, it’s not exciting, and the house always wins in the end.
#36
I hate all the reruns of Hitler-related garbage.
#37
Anything to do with politics and politicians.
#38
Raving about superheroes, comics, and weird anime and manga.
#39
Sports, Social Media, Music.
In New Zealand, we’re supposed to all be into rugby. No—rugby, soccer, whatever. I find watching sports boring. I’ve played a few, which can be fun, but not watching.
Social media—with all the 'look at me,' 'like me,' and fake portrayals of people’s lives? No, it’s unhealthy, in my opinion.
Music? I don’t mind it, I just don’t care, especially. Not a musical person.
#40
American football. It’s ugly and clunky, and I just can’t understand the hype around a bunch of dudes sniffing each other’s butts, then ramming into each other, then someone remembering there’s an awkward egg to throw and catch, only to run up the field and slam the egg on the ground.
#41
My problem is the opposite. I get excited by things most people find boring: history, science, math, engineering. I’ll watch YouTube explainers on how an incremental change to an internal combustion engine creates a 3% improvement in fuel efficiency—and be totally fascinated for an hour. I excitedly watch people solve math problems (even really simple algebra). My friends and kids think my enthusiasm is nuts.
#42
Professional or college football. I belong to a large extended family, and most of them are rabid fans of one particular college team. George Will said it best: 'Football combines two of the worst aspects of American life: violence and committee meetings.' (George is a baseball guy all the way—baseball is the only big-time sport I enjoy watching.)
#43
Baseball. It's like sitting around watching paint dry.
#44
Hearing about how someone, somewhere is oppressed. Then playing the "ain't it awful" pastime.
