However disparate the big events in recent times are, there is a real sense that we're seeing therapies for a collective sense of not just the instability of social mores but - put simply - utter boredom.

A toxic mix of ennui (boredom) and anomie (social instability) ran through many of 2011's lowlights, from the summer riots and public protests to the phone hacking scandal, where our languor – for so long satiated by a prurient lust for gossip – turned in on itself.

Even faith in our governments – for a long time bastions of reliability (at least in the sense of keeping the home fires burning) - have been brought to their knees by the expenses scandal and more recently, the inability to shake off economic doom-and-gloom. For years we've sauntered by, but as the UK shakes, apathy and indifference has reached its denouement.

No doubt the outbreaks of willed mayhem will become an ever-familiar sight, but for our 'wearies' - working, entrepreneurial and active retirees – the net effect of ennui and anomie is equally significant yet far more subtle.

According to Friends Life research, pensioners – in many cases with retirement savings in short supply but given more options by the removal of the default retirement age – will be driven to work part time, start up their own small firms or begin trading online.

Make no mistake, for many working on while health and fitness slowly deteriorate won't be an enviable option. But for some, this isn't the sad tale the headlines suggest.  The shake-up of society and cultures in the UK, the advancement of technologies and burgeoning need for self-reliance means for the older generation it must find its place in the new world order. But it could be something more. It could just be a withered middle finger to monotony.

Jimi Piggott, Communications Development Executive, Friends Life