Open Thread Update: Your Favorite Online Timewasters
Last time we asked for favorite online timewasters. Readers like Corrinne C., Leah H. Barbara R. and Susan L. prefer the traditional route of online puzzles and crosswords (including ours, we hope!)
Every morning I do NYTimes puzzles: Spelling Bee, Wordle, Connections, Strands, Mini Crossword. Other online word games Quordle, Octordle, Blossoms. And Instagram YouTube.
-Corinne C.
Online puzzles
I do online jigsaw puzzles using image files I collect from FaceBook and other sites. It is the perfect “mindless” activity that gets me off my mental train of thought.
Facebook Reels
My most recent online time wasters are the “reels” on Facebook! I get hypnotized and there’s always just one more. . . . I check “follow” on ones I like and that brings me more of them….The list keeps growing. Caution: could lead to greater screen addiction!
…check out her comment for more!
We’ll keep the comments open for another week so you can add your thoughts and faves, and thanks, everyone who contributed thus far!
Original Column:
Technology is a useful and awesome tool that can do so much – help research almost any topic, demonstrate any number of DIY projects, learn languages and so much more.
But sometimes, don’t you just want to take a break and get some mindless entertainment?
I do. When I need a break – or a laugh – I search for some brief, fun to watch and/or read websites. Here are my favorites:
The Brick Experiment Channel
This mad genius with a fondness for LEGO’s does nerdy experiments with LEGOs. I love the work by this engineer in Finland. You must visit his website to see his work (he is quite adamant about his intellectual property) but I guarantee that you will be completely won over by the charm and ingenuity of his constructions. He even manages to give them personalities. Check out “Five LEGO Walkers vs. Seven Obstacles.” To learn more, visit here.
Four German Shepherds Review Food
This has been one of my favorite go-to’s when I need a little break. The owner of these four ‘housewolfs” films her dogs as they sample (or reject) everything from broccoli (mixed reviews) to blueberries, to every kind of meat imaginable It’s fascinating to see their different personalities: Jade, who eats everything – even vegetables and fruits – in two bites and looks for more, to the discriminating Jasper, who will give a few experimental licks before declining fish, and who chews everything very thoroughly while his siblings wait patiently for the next tidbit, to Jet, who pretty much only eats meat, and to the newest, Onyx, who will eat everything but prefers to do it from the floor.
KLR Productions
This Youtube channel with more than 4 million subscribers takes watcher-submitted videos and creates dialog, situations and even characters – Gary of the Raccoon Federation, Inspector Otter and Larry, and the Cat Alliance (with the ‘cattynip cattynip’ chant) vs. the Dog Kingdom. New content is added each week and each one is a keeper.
Crosswords
And of course, there’s always the Senior Planet Crossword, appearing the 2nd Sunday of the month. Here’s the latest!
YOU TURN
But that’s me. What are your favorite online timewasters? Share your faves in the comments!
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers and blogs about New York City life. Send your “Open Thread” suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org.
Interested in personalized content? Sign up for free
Create an account and join our vibrant community to get reminders on classes and unlock a more personalized experience.
Comments
Watching short dramas on Facebook. Really like the vertical actors.
I’m obsessive about the midnight release of the NY Times word games- the mini crossword, wordle, connections, strands, and tiles. At 3am we get the new spelling bee and letterboxed. Then I can go to bed. Of course, during the day there’s also dictionary.com’s outspell – playing scrabble against a computer. And just for fun, bored panda – a wonderful subreddit (if you don’t mind their puerile censorship!)
Substack – pick any topic or writer I like and I can’t stop paging through the comments and steering off into some other string of contributions from a wide divergent audience with interesting points of view.
Online puzzles: NYT Wordle, sudoku, NYT connections, jigsaw puzzles, karaoke, solitaire. Facebook reels. All on my tablet.
You Tube is my go to in the evenings. I watch gamers, and movie reviewers. But my favorites are people who make stuff: Artists, crafters, art journalers, and the like. Occasionally I’ll fall down a rabbit hole watching people fix and shoe horses with messed up hooves or groom dogs that haven’t ever seen a groomer, or watch an antique restored to life. But then I go back to my usuals.