How to Make your Online Journey one to Remember
The internet can do pretty much everything. You can chat, video chat, play games, buy items, and even learn from online courses! To make the most out of it, it's essential to know how to spend your time on the internet doing what makes you happy rather than eternally looking for something to do.
Clean up your junk
How is this going to help me make the most out of my internet journey, you might say? But cleaning out your spam folders and unsubscribing from mailing lists you never use is a great way to start fresh! Getting too many adverts and spam mails can slow down your journey, so when you delete everything you don’t use (like that free fitness subscription program you applied to three years ago), your inbox will be much more apparent. This allows you to notice emails that are important to you, like the update from your favorite Kickstarter.
Make a list
The internet is practically endless, and it will be impossible to do everything before you die, so it's helpful to make a list to guide you towards your goals. Have you always wanted to play the guitar that’s gathering dust in your room? Write it down and look for guitar lessons online. There are so many YouTube tutorials. Even things like crocheting a Charmander plush are widely available for you to look up, which makes it easier to gain more knowledge on so many topics, including practicing hobbies!
Play online or offline games
An excellent way to spend time on the internet is by playing games. There is a multitude of online and offline games available for free. There are currently a few popular multiplayer games like Overwatch and Fortnite in which you can play with and against people from all over the world. The games allow you to chat with each other as well, providing a helpful basis to develop new friendships or rivalries.
There are also game services like Steam, which allow you to buy games on the platform (some games are free) and save them in your library. This enables you to deinstall or install them whenever you like. While online games are a great way to socialize, offline games are ideal for blowing off some steam after a long day or to sit back and relax and enjoy your solitude.
Video chat
When having met all those new friends through gaming chatrooms, you sometimes also want to see what face is behind their character. Video chatting allows you to get to know people and see them in a relatively safe manner. Services like Skype are ideal for this since you don't need to give away much personal information, and it's completely free too.
Video chatting comes with a small warning though, not everyone on the internet is looking for the same friendship as you are, and there may be people trying to make you do things you would rather not. In such cases, do not feel afraid to report their accounts and tell them no. Also, make sure never to give away any personal or identifying information to strangers.
Next to making friends, video chatting is also a great way to keep in touch with distant family. If you have cousins living in another state or country, it’s easier and cheaper to chat with them than to buy a plane ticket. Or maybe you want to show your family the top of the mountain you’ve just climbed through your phone and let them enjoy the view with you. There are so many possibilities!
Chatting
Of course, you don’t always have to show your face when chatting with others. There are many websites like Discord and Reddit that allow you to chat with like-minded strangers in themed groups. There are topics like Harry Potter, News events, and games, which all have their respectable group in which people share opinions and similarities.
Finding people with similar interests forms a basis for a possible friendship or just people to chat with when you feel like talking to someone.
Blogging
We all have something to share, and sometimes it's just so much that you can't all put it down in a chatroom. In this case, it's a fun idea to start your blog. You can write it about anything you like, and you can decide to keep it for yourself like a diary (make sure to privatize the link in this case) or to make it public and share your life stories or ideas with others as well.
Starting a blog is very easy and usually free as well. Just type in "blog maker free" on Google, and you've multiple options to choose from. You can use pictures you like to create a theme or pick an automated one.
The hardest part is writing content and maintaining a regular blogging scheme. When you blog solely for yourself, this won’t be a problem. But when you want others to be invested in what you have to say, it’s important to post regularly.
Watch videos
Like the TV, the internet can also provide you with entertaining content. YouTube offers a wide variety of music videos, video blogs, tutorials, and funny compilations. However, if you want to watch a series or movies, you can choose from multiple services to watch whatever you'd like. Maybe they don't stream Doctor Who on Netflix in your country, so then you can go online to find a source that offers all seasons of Doctor Who, including subtitles!
Be aware; many free movie streaming services have spam or malware close by on the website. Always make sure to have an anti-virus program installed and be cautious when clicking an external link. In doubt, don't do it.
Connect with childhood friends
Maybe you've moved out of your hometown, or perhaps you miss the people you used to hang out with. Social media is a great way to keep in touch with people you haven't seen in a long time to see what they are up to nowadays. Maybe your best friend in first grade has a super cute kid now, or perhaps your great-great-aunt tries out Facebook and posts the funniest jokes.
This also gives you the possibility to share photos of your travels, food, and pets. You can choose to set your profile to private or public, allowing only friends or family to see it as well.
Most social media apps and websites have chat functions as well, which allows you to catch up with childhood friends or family privately. Facebook also offers groups for all kinds of activities, allowing you to get into contact with even more people with the same interests as you.
Travel the earth
This might seem weird, but you can definitely travel the world or even the universe from your couch! NASA’s website or applications like Google Earth give you the freedom to choose any location on earth or in between the stars to start exploring. Maybe you want to check out some famous sights in Germany before actually booking a holiday there, or perhaps you're curious to see what your home looks like from above. Reasonably you can even see your neighbor's cat sitting on the fence like he always does.
A fun game you can play with friends both online and offline is to pick any location that’s only visible to you and give them hints to have them find your location. It’s guaranteed to be fun and hilarious.
Now that you’ve discovered many ways to spend your time on the internet, it’s time to start! What are you going to do first?