Apathy

Mag-uno man sab ako? These words can have a deep impact for those whose interests are limited. There are even those who will feel annoyed and become moody once boredom hits to the core. That is the reason why people must be exposed to productive interests or hobbies when they are still young or even older.

What is an interest? Zavi (2019) said: An interest is a subjective attitude motivating a person to perform a certain task. It affords pleasure and satisfaction. It results in curiosity towards the object of interest, enthusiasm to be attached to the object, strength of will to face difficulties while engaged in the task of one’s interest, a definite change in behavior in the presence of the object characterized by attention and concentration.

At an early age, parents must expose the little kids to different experiences and activities so that they will see the inclinations of the child. That is the time when they nurture such interests to become part of the young person’s growth. This can be helpful when the child grows. He/she will be absorbed into something which is meaningful rather than feel bored and feel frustrated on certain situations.

The potential for interest lies within the person, but the content and environment influence the strength and direction of interest as well as its continued development (Hidi and Renninger, 2006; Renninger and Hidi, 2011). The fact that interest is influenced by both content and the context of the situation suggests that interventions have the potential to both trigger interest and promote the maintenance of interest.

Observe on how adults behave during this time of quarantine. There are those who cannot bear the thought of staying at home. You see, there are NO meaningful activities for them inside. But there are those people who are getting by. A few are slumped in a corner reading. There are some who are viewing documentaries. Some are doing crafts and sewing. Baking and cooking became a haven for some. And most interestingly are those who are LEARNING online or using other platforms to acquire something which can be of use once the quarantine will end.

The aforementioned activities are difficult to appreciate once the individual does not find meaning in them.

Some researchers believe that interest cannot be created: you are either interested in x or you aren’t. This belief seems to be motivated by research showing that interests are often stable over time; if you are (not) interested in something today, it is unlikely that your interest level in the thing will be different next year. Other researchers have suggested that interest actually can be created where they didn’t exist before (Hidi, Renninger, 2006).

That is the point when we can utilize the time of quarantine by developing our own interests and guiding the young ones into finding theirs. Since interest can be developed, we can start something new today!

The emergence of enduring interests is an example of motivational development. Three broad kinds of theories are identified. One group of theories proposes that interests come from a source of intrinsic motivation, such as a curiosity instinct (William McDougall) or feelings of curiosity and interest (Silvan Tomkins, Manfred Prenzel). A second group of theories proposes that interests come from extrinsic motivational sources. Examples include John Dewey's model of intrinsic and extrinsic interest, and Gordon Allport's functional autonomy principle. A third group of theories proposes that interests are offshoots of deeper motives and needs, such as psychodynamic drives (Sigmund Freud), unfulfilled needs (Anne Roe), or physiological drives (Clark Hull). The chapter considers some abstract similarities and differences between these diverse theories.

These theoretical backbones for interest allow us to understand the importance of doing productive things during these times when we have lots of time. By doing so, we will be able to be developmentally upright rather than be on the verge of depression and anxiety.

Positive motivation is seen when people engage in an activity that has a virtuous end, such as volunteering, athletics, or art. Negative motivation is evident when individuals act in a manner that is unethical or has a destructive end, such as judging others, physical altercations or vandalism (Schinnerer, 2018).

That is the reason why we need to monitor our actions and even thoughts at this time of quarantine. Are we doing things with a negative outcome or are building strong foundations of positive outputs?

If we are looking for the best results in our idle times, we will focus more on positive, internal motivation for ourselves as well as others.

We need to be interested on our INTERESTS.