O ne of my New Year’s resolutions was to live a life consisting of less phone time, including checking it less often throughout the day. Current status: little to no progress. At this point, all I have done is forgotten to bring my phone a few times when I go to leave for class. When I do have it, I still check it directly before and after my classes, during meals and any other spare moment in between. I am addicted to checking texts, emails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, weather and every other type of notification or app that can immediately give me information on what is going on in the world. If my phone screen does not light up throughout the day, I assume something is amiss or I am out of the loop that I feel I need to be “in.” Even while writing this, I have been distracted several times by the little blue notification light on my phone screen even though I know it is an email that does not need a reply right now. As I walk around campus, I see I am not the only one whose life is driven by the number of dings their phone emits every day. This lifestyle is what leads to publications and blog posts titled “I quit social media for a month,” as if the act is a life-changing moment that the world needs to know. But perhaps one of the subtlest effects of social media is our habits of turning to these sites when we have nothing else to do. Instead, we should be turning to the friends and environment around us for inspiration. This is not an attempt to bash social media; there are many useful and enjoyable aspects of these platforms, and it would be hypocritical of me to call for a complete ban when I have no intention of deleting my own accounts any time soon. No, this is a call to begin resisting the urge to check your social accounts when you have nothing else to do. I want you allow yourself to be bored. Traditionally, the possibility of boredom is seen as a negative. There are many studies suggesting boredom leads to a decrease in academic success; however, there are also studies that define several types of boredom that have a positive effect on individuals. According to one study, “indifferent boredom” is one such type that leaves someone in a calm state with generally positive feelings. We must put ourselves in these situations. When boredom is positive, research shows more creativity is expressed afterward. In a study at the University of Central Lancashire, participants involved in a boring activity were able to report a higher number of solutions to a creative problem afterward than those who did not complete the boring activity. Therefore, when we give in to our urges to turn to our phone when we are not being stimulated by something else, we are not allowing our later selves to generate positive creativity that is crucial to success. There have been many times throughout the last few years in which adults who are a generation or two older have asked me if I could ever live without my phone. Mostly it has been in a joking manner, but I am realizing that for many people my age, the answer is a terrifying no. I do not believe this is solely because we are unable to socialize face to face, but research shows that social gratification can entice a higher rate of phone usage. Many millennials will argue filling their bored moments with social media and screen time is not a waste of time, that they are using their resources to scan through breaking news or building friendships virtually. This may be true at times, but often those short news clips turn into viral videos starring cats and people making fools of themselves. This is clearly not the best society has to offer. Knowing this, I propose we all have something better to do with our boredom. While there is no magical activity that will inspire greatness in everyone, everyone does have something else they could be engaged in that has higher benefits than social media. I am not suggesting we all stop using our social media accounts right now and never turn back. I am suggesting we begin to accept our feelings of boredom and turn them toward an activity that promotes creativity within ourselves. It could be reading a book that has been on your list for years, completing a project you started a while ago or even taking a nap. Whatever it is, channel all your social media urges into this new task. A piece of advice: It helps if you leave your phone behind when you go engage in this activity. Trust me, Twitter will still be there when you finish. Opinion The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 4A — Wednesday, January 25, 2017 REBECCA LERNER Managing Editor 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. EMMA KINERY Editor in Chief ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Carolyn Ayaub Megan Burns Samantha Goldstein Caitlin Heenan Jeremy Kaplan Anna Polumbo-Levy Max Lubell Alexis Megdanoff Madeline Nowicki Jason Rowland Ali Safawi Kevin Sweitzer Rebecca Tarnopol Ashley Tjhung Stephanie Trierweiler EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS It’s OK to be bored ALEXIS MEGDANOFF ALEXIS MEGDANOFF | COLUMN EMILY WOLFE | CONTACT EMILY AT ELWOLFE@UMICH.EDU W e all know a friend or two who grew up Catholic but no longer associates themselves with religion. “What a shame,” an older devout Catholic might think, “that young people just don’t understand life.” What we may not realize, though, is that this generational gap is an opportunity for us to become good debaters. Millennials have been labeled as “the least religious generation” in history. It’s true — young people are leaving the church. In fact, according to a longitudinal research study conducted by Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, church attendance of high-school seniors decreased by half from 2000 to 2013, and three times as many college students don’t affiliate themselves with religion compared to the previous generation. What does that mean for us? This brings me back to a conversation from last summer I had with my uncle, who is a priest. “I hope you find meaning in little things in life through connection with God,” he said in reference to a tree. “You’ll find ways to do that as you grow older.” The trouble with this line of thought is that people tend to assume that millennials lack empathy and fail to seek meaning in life — if I don’t pray before dinner, do I fail to express gratitude? Twenge finds that millennials’ decline in religious involvement is not age-dependent. Instead, she suggests that it may be due to a cultural rise of individualism of our modern generation. In an individualistic society, there is less desire to conform and a greater attempt to maintain sense of self. But we fail to recognize this fact in practice. From conversations with friends, I find that many students avoid talking about their non- religiousness in their Catholic homes. Maybe their devout Catholic grandparents wouldn’t understand; they don’t know how to bring it up or they just don’t care. But the main reason appears to reside in our tendency to circumvent conflict. A friend once remarked, “My dad told me that two things I should avoid talking about with people are politics and religion.” I personally have experienced this ambivalence myself. I grew up in a Catholic household, but my relationship with Catholicism grew tenuous over the years, especially when I first took biology in college. The very first day, as the professor explained the fundamentals of evolution, he stated, “There is no such thing as God.” The students’ reactions were divided. Some people reacted adversely, while some others, like me, were intrigued by his bluntness. Throughout the course, I became engrossed in biology and understanding the universe as a scientist, a passion that may be looked down upon by some devout Catholics. As Dr. Kalanithi writes, “I, like most scientific types, came to believe in the possibility of a material conception of reality.” However, by viewing life in the Darwinian sense that life has no higher purpose, I grew up torn between the scientific mind and desire to foster love; between respect for my family’s beliefs and having my own voice. As I lived my conflict, I began to initiate conversations with my own family. I told my parents the things I learned about evolution, while they reminded me about the importance of fundamental human experiences such as hope, love, suffering and striving. By doing so, I realized that my preference to leave my church was not due to lack of purpose and meaning, but rather quite the opposite. It was in these discussions with my parents that I began to recognize the complementary aspects of science and religion. I have come to realize that we need an anti-Darwinian society, as Richard Dawkins suggests. We need to learn evolution to understand why we exist, but we should not live by it. Understanding evolution can help us learn what to avoid in human life — how to uplift those who need it most and not cast them aside. But, are religion and science even in conflict? According to Pew Research, the famous religion versus science debate may still be relevant. Six out of 10 adults express the view that scientific knowledge and religion are at odds with each other, especially on the topic of the creation of the universe. Michael Evans, a research associate at Dartmouth College, provides an interesting perspective: “Public conflict involving religion and science reflects a fundamental conflict over good debate.” In making this comment, Evans urges us to talk to one another to not only advance our own positions, but more importantly, to listen to one another. To better engage older generations and millennials, I find it that we need to begin these conversations at dinner, which is the place people avoid talking about religion the most. To remind us the importance of argument, Megyn Kelly writes in her book “Settle for More,” “I believe in the right to offend. To insult. Even to horrify. It’s not that we’re supposed to enjoy it, it’s that we’re supposed to allow it and then respond in a more persuasive voice.” Avoiding conflict is counterproductive to our education. Let’s become better debaters, starting at the dinner table. GINA CHOE | COLUMN Resolving science and religion GINA CHOE Tribute to Granny: An American Muslim MICHIGAN IN COLOR W e sat in her hospital room, just my granny and me, as she told me about her solar technology patent. The topic transported her mind from her blue gown lit by fluorescent lighting to her classroom at Virginia Tech. A well-prepared lecture evolved out of her weak speech as my visitor’s chair turned into a desk. Like a song from her childhood, she rhythmically told me about sputtering techniques and thin film solar converters. Upon forgetting just one colleague’s name, she looked at me and laughed at her “old mind.” On Jan. 8, 2017, my brilliant granny passed away after a lifetime of teaching. Her greatest lesson to me will be how to be an outstanding citizen and an amazing Muslim. Lubna Razia Ijaz was born in 1936 in Lahore, Pakistan. By the time she began studying at Government College in Lahore, she had already skipped multiple grades. I remember her telling me stories of being one of the few girls in her class. Once, a male classmate asked her why she didn’t wear the Islamic headscarf, to which she responded, “Are you a girl? Why do you care?” That classmate would go on to marry my granny and become my grandfather. The two lovebirds moved to Florida in 1960 to pursue higher education. I cannot begin to imagine the possible instances of prejudice they must have faced coming into America’s civil rights era as people of color. Perhaps this is because she never told her grandchildren stories of prejudice. She only depicted the America that welcomed her with grace and respect. Her hallmark story from the Florida days is how she and my grandfather presented a Quran to the president of Florida State University, Gordon Blackwell. In 1965 the two moved to Virginia. But it wasn’t just Virginia — it was Blacksburg, Virginia, a town neighbored by Christiansburg and Lynchburg. Take a second to imagine the mindsets of my grandparents’ townspeople. Their presence was so revolutionary that a local newspaper photographed my grandparents with the title, “These are Moslems.” However, rather than being discouraged by the apparent obstacles to inclusion, they were excited to be involved in the community and the culture. Coming from the villages of the Punjab, my grandparents had a deep love of the land, which was a central part of the Virginian lifestyle. As a result, every visit to Virginia is filled with fingers pointing from the car windows at the acres and acres of land my grandparents developed. While she was cultivating both her family and the Virginian landscape, my granny pursued her Ph.D. in solar physics and education from Virginia Tech. It makes me so optimistic to know that she earned her doctoral degree at a time when less than 5 percent of all Ph.D.s in physics were awarded to women. She fervently believed in the Islamic principles of education for everyone, not just males, and led by example in the American education scene. Her dedication to her faith was evident when she took office as president of the women’s auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA from 1969 to 1971. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is America’s oldest Muslim community, established in 1920. Three of the first 313 adherents to the Ahmadiyyat were my granny’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather. They were some of the first members of a revolutionary social movement, founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India, championing “Love for all, hatred for none.” It’s inspiring that she took her deeply rooted spirituality and put it to practical use in order to help empower women in the early ’70s. In addition to her work with the women’s auxiliary, she was constantly looking for opportunities to develop the American Muslim community. In 1983, my grandparents sought to build a mosque for Muslims in the surrounding states. An newspaper titled “Islam in Virginia” says the mosque was being established in “the heart of the ‘Bible belt,’ ” underscoring the adversity of its construction. Due to financial issues the mosque project was never fully completed, but her disregard for possible cultural roadblocks inspires me to this day. Practicing Islam was never an inhibitor to her acceptance into society. In today’s political rhetoric, Muslims are often made out to seem incompatible to the American way of life. During the second presidential debate in October 2016, President Trump called for an extreme vetting of Muslims. The goal of this kind of rhetoric is to say Muslims and Americans don’t, can’t and won’t mix. But my granny is clear evidence that the only thing “extreme” is the extreme lack of conflict between being Muslim and being American. For example, I would often imagine what it was like being in my granny’s classroom. What was it like learning from her with her South Asian accent and Pakistani saris? Apparently, it was great! In 1976, Lubna Ijaz was awarded a Woman of the Year award in education by Montgomery County, Va. Her breakthrough teaching styles emphasized the practical applications of physics and reduced the stress on examinations for students. My uncle often tells me that she would pass out physics exams with the answers attached, tell her students her assessment was of concepts, not equations. In 1996 she established a Virginia Tech scholarship in her name to annually award a student who “has shown great commitment to the science of physics.” It was no surprise that students loved socializing with my granny. One photograph shows my granny, wearing traditional shalwar kameez, standing in the family apple orchard surrounded by her students, all adorned in high- waisted bell-bottoms. I love that photograph. It shows me that cultures and religions are not obstacles to unity. Cultural differences and religious diversity are necessary for a society to progress and prosper. That single photograph shows me that being an American Muslim is not an oxymoron, but a beautiful indicator of society moving towards a bright future. More than anything, that photograph shows me that my granny was an American Muslim woman, unafraid of any obstacles to unity, ready to break glass ceilings and win over the hearts of her fellow Virginians. IBRAHIM IJAZ CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. Gina Choe can be reached at ginachoe@umich.edu. Ibrahim Ijaz can be reached at iijaz@umich.edu Alexis Megdanoff can be reached at amegdano@umich.edu.