The Search for Novelty
As the world grows ever more encompassed by social media and scrolling, while fueling the ADHD brain, our new experiences, & relationships are filled with such heightened emotional reverence it can make anyone swoon with delight and be in constant search of the unknown. But, what do we do when the novelty wears off and we discard the last experience, searching for the next dopamine hit, and this becomes a pattern, in an ever consuming cycle of discovery and discard? Are there other values within convention, we can glean from? Those ‘oh so boring’ routines that go beyond novelty? Although I do believe novelty to be beneficial - is there a way to find balance in novelty and routine?
“Research shows that we tend to prefer novelty when we want to maximize our enjoyment of certain experiences. We want to see a new movie, visit a new city, and eat at a new restaurant. Novel experiences are fun and can do us a lot of good: sparking our desire to learn and explore, keeping our relationships fresh and exciting, even boosting our memory” (Burgess & Dicker, 2025),
but, it can sometimes come at a cost. As we all aren’t warranted the time or money to consistently seek out new grander experiences and it can often negate the benefits of repetition and routine in life. Our FOMO (fear of missing out), which is in direct correlation to getting dopamine through novelty, can be triggered through comparison - as we scroll through travel blogs or instagram posts that highlight a jaunt through a pristine and tranquil jungle filled with waterfalls, with which we’ve never experienced, while stuck staring at a wall in a work cubicle and according to Leah Fessler (2019), “There’s a general belief that if you want to seem like an interesting, cultured person, the best thing you can do is to showcase that you’re open to new experiences. That may be true, but I think we take for granted the other value of really ‘digging deep’ into one domain.”
Take for instance the Blue Zones. Many of the countries who made the top of the lists for life longevity and quality are the ones where people remain in their hometowns for most of their lives. They have deeply satisfying and consistently committed relationships and as discussed above, in this situation, they also have habits of choosing what they like to do, eat or even watch on repeat. And according to Leah Fessler and her research with Ed O’ Brien a behavioral scientist, we are more boring than we truly let on, yet we are continually bombarded with negative language in regards to living this way, in order to satiate economies capitalistic ventures. So what does ‘digging deep’ into ones domain mean. It often means that every interaction, connection, experience is never truly the same. That there is nuance, even in the boring and routine. That there is already a balance of novelty and repetition in the mundane. Whether we pick up on it or not, but the idea is to not stress ourselves out in creating new and grander experiences in relation to comparison or negative association to habituation, but to relish in the nuances of those routines we already find pleasurable.
Take for example surfing. As a surfer I could never imagine my life without it. There is consistent repetition in doing it. Yet, every single experience I have while doing it has been different. Every wave is different, even the flow of tides will change. The sea may have been ravished by a storm the previous weekend and turned the water a murkier red, after kicking up different sediment other than what usually sits on the surface. That sediment may create a reflection in the water never seen before during sunset. The wave height is consistently changing, so that no ride produces the same movements I make while dancing along the board. I have had interactions with sharks, manatees and stingrays. It's almost impossible to not notice the nuances in these experiences and although this may be a more extreme example, we have the ability to pick up on these subtleties in even the smallest of adventures. Like taking a walk. You might walk the same path in Central Park but never see the exact same people or if you do see the same people will those people be walking differently or with someone you don’t know? Their lives will be changing just as yours is. Will the seasons be changing, and you get to witness the vibrant blooms of fall this time around.
Even in romantic relationships, we can choose to be with someone whose depth is as vast as the ocean. That way, even in our routine daily lives together the novelty never truly fades. Maybe that’s how we find balance. Finding routines that encompass a depth that will forever show you a new experience. An unraveling of sorts. Peeling back the layers, until what you see no longer resembles the same patterns you saw in the beginning, because, is it not, our perceptions in life that truly shape our reality?
Sources:
Gillian Burgess & Melia Dicker, 2025, https://semitogether.com/podcast/balancing-novelty-familiarity/#:~:text=Questions%20to%20find%20your%20own,see%20the%20first%20time%20around.
Leah Fessler (2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/smarter-living/the-unexpected-joy-of-repeat-experiences.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dk8.r_rc.3wZSCVBoOAf5&smid=url-share
