I’m pretty sick of my content addiction, like watching youtube or netflix all the time. I would rather be spending my time otherwise so figured fun things are the best to start. Do you have tips for fun things to do? Or how I could search for them?
Some I came up with myself:
- Learning some magic tricks
- Learning some origami
- Thrift shopping
Everything is welcome!
Edit: thank you for the huge response!
Here are my hobbies/interests that simultaneously get me off Social Media/Content Streams while giving me something to talk about/post about/watch about when I’m back. I may also have podcasts or youtube on in the background if the activity permits
Group A, the “touch grass” activities:
That last one requires a lot of effort and rarely has immediate payoffs if you don’t already have a friend group bigger that one or two friends, but it’s so important and requires putting time into it and developing social skills. In fact, 2+3 both benefit from learning skills and shortcuts and habits; therefore they require just as much time and energy as any hobby.
Group B, the “what I do for fun”
“hacking” — pentesting computers and VMs, whether on HackTheBox, TryHackMe, Vulnhub, or someones one-off github-hosted machine; and of course so many online CTFs
“tinkering” — I like messing with the physical part of electronics too. Or mechanical devices. Or anything that I can dissect and modify
active listening to music — taking the time to listen and be carried away by music, maybe even start to analyze it. I know it’s still technically “consuming content,” but I consider it to stimulate a different part of the brain than, say, watching a random youtuber bring himself one mukbang closer to an embolism.
playing music — the world’s shittest bassist. I’m not trying to be good, just have fun and improve my ear and dexterity and musical intuition
foreign language learning — good for the brain, good for someone who wants to travel good for jobs and making genuine human connections. Not fluent in anything besides english yet, but I’m always acquiring new vocabulary words when I can
Creative writing — Most of what I do anymore is just drafting elaborate shitposts to post online later, but I’ve been known to crank out parts of short stories and terrible poetry
Activism — I won’t say where, when, who, nor why, but that doesn’t matter. The important part is that there are few things in life more fulfilling than coming home after a long day of doing outreach/aid/[redacted]/fundraising for a community and/or cause you care about.
coding — of freaking course I’m also learning to program. You thought I was done with the electronics, but of course I had to sneak this in. You expect me to learn binary exploitation without having a strong understanding of programming? You expect me to do DIY hardware projects without coding the firmware? You’ve been absolutely HAD.
Worshipping the dark goddess [redacted] at the temple of [redacted] — a healthy spiritual aspect to your life has far reaching benefits that scientific medicine and psychology are only just beginning to scratch the surface of. Of course you don’t have to start with worshipping [redacted], it can be as simple as cultivating a healthy appreciation for the beauty in every aspect of the natural world around you and the mystique of existence itself. Then later you can move onto the [redacted] sacrifices to make [redacted] [redacted] so [redacted] may once again [redacted] the earth.
Group C, the “dangerously close to consuming content” group, but still technically separate activities/skills
Armchair philosophy — we all do it, but I’m the only one who was smart/lazy enough to list it as a hobby. Unfortunately this does ocassionally learning about others’ philosophy and the topics you’re bullshitting about, which is why I say it’s “dangerously close”
Media analysis — see previous… Okay, I got my degree in Literature + Language, I really enjoy deep analyses of media, and sometimes make my own. The act itself doesn’t require consuming anything more than you already have, but if you haven’t consumed any media in awhile…
reading — okay, I know, this is literally just back to consuming content, but… You don’t learn how to do any of the above without some reading. It helps you learn a language if you read a story in your target language. it’s the format most philosophy was originally recorded in. It’s the medium writers have to learn to be good at their craft. It’s what format most electronic/software documentation is in. It’s how music was recorded for centuries before audio media. It’s also just a fun activity that engages different parts of the brain and trains your imagination even when it’s “just” fiction.
Respect for keeping the active in activism. I know too many people who share Facebook memes and feel like they’ve done enough.
Aside from the Shub-Niggurath worship (I’m more of an Azathoth person, myself), I agree with most things here. I’d just add to the list, group B I guess:
I feel these are more ‘apex’ hobbies, wherein you need a bit of everything (chemistry, electronics, an artistic sense, lots of patience) and they will occupy most of your time. You’d think electronics and aquaria are not the closest things, but just you wait until you feel the need to build an LED lamp with simulated day/night cycles and moonlight, controlled by an arduino.
The barrier to entry is fairly low - there are starter sets available and I’ve found that hobby shops of this sort are usually staffed by very knowledgeable people, eager to help newcomers. And, you can go as deep as you want and still have fun. You will also learn an absolute fuckton of things about what you choose to model with your hobby.
An honorable mention for homebrewing, which I don’t even regard as a hobby at this point, but more of a necessity, like cooking.
You’re cool af. I love the idea of cultivating microbiomes.
I’m so fucking transparent I may as well be invisible. I do indeed have Lovecraft on the brain, that was a fantastic read on your part.
Lmao