For whatever reason, possibly because of the guitars popularity in rock bands, who knows, it seems as though the guitar is often times taken less seriously when someone is wanting to learn an instrument.
I think most everyone I've known has a guitar lying around somewhere in their house. I'd bet it's safe to say that probably (90%) of teenage boys own, or have owned a guitar. The problem is, again for whatever reason, most individuals never seem to study the guitar formally, even though they say that want to play.
When I was in school I played the clarinet. It wasn't something that I had sitting in the corner, something that I'd pick up a couple times a week and blow a few notes on. I learned to read music, practiced everyday, and studied in an effort to improve my playing.
If you think about the piano for instance...most kids that take piano lessons, whether by choice or because their parents choose it for them, do it in a little more serious manner. They take a lesson once a week, practice what the teacher gives them to practice, and hopefully improve proportionately. Granted, most probably don't pursue the instrument for their lifetime, but they seem to take it more seriously while they are playing.
The point of this is...if you want to play the guitar, then study what you need to in an effort to get better. Show the instrument the respect it deserves. Leave the guitar in it's case until you are ready to practice. When you're ready to practice, have your practice material ready, and use it.
When you pick the guitar up for (8) minutes at a time, and strum out the few chords you know, or maybe play those few notes that you've been able to come up with from Stairway to Heaven, you're never really going to get better.
If you've purchased a guitar, chances are that you care enough about it to want to play good. The guitar is a fabulous instrument, a true concert quality instrument. Practice it in an effort to learn, not just because you're bored. If you've learned some chords, and maybe even some solos that you can play well, then you probably have some talent. Don't let that talent go to waste. Who knows, you just might be the next Andres Segovia or Eric Clapton.
They say a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but so is talent...and also that guitar sitting in the corner gathering dust.
Now go practice. 
