What's Your Idea of Fun?

What's your idea of fun?
It might be this

This

Or this

During my childhood years, my idea of fun used to be playing videogames and reading books by myself. Even though these are activities you do by yourself, I always felt content doing them. There were no negative feelings associated with them - apart from eyestrain.

Then came the post-high school years, where computer programming took up most of my experience, and replaced most of my reading. Building videogames replaced playing them. I started exploring the nature around town as well. There were ups and downs but life was great!

Unfortunately, the college years were also when social media started taking up a lot of me and my peers' mindspace, which started to shape our thoughts of fun should be.

What the media tells you

Someone once told me TV shows like Friends or HIMYM weren't relatable because they only ever showed groups of adults hanging out - ALL. THE. TIME. These fictional beings have no real-world responsibilities - no job to go to - and no real-world stressors like bills or taxes.

In my perspective, social media plays the same role for our brains. We only ever see groups of people having fun, doing activities you might never have thought of. If you look at Instagram or any other social media, the only definition of "going out" on there would be going to the nightclub or getting drunk with friends.

Although they might be perfectly valid ways of having fun, they were quite new to me. And maybe, they were new to some of you out there as well. Also, the spaced repetition way one gets fed this information starts changing how you think about fun as well.

What other people tell you

If you start speaking to real people about what they do at the weekends or when they have spare time, the reality of having fun starts popping out. People do everything from watching movies, playing videogames ❤️, gardening to even playing outdoors sports! In fact, I picked up Tennis during the chilling winter months, on the recommendation of people I work with.

What I mean to say here is - people are complex beings, with multiple waxing and waning interests. If you talk to real adults with responsibilities, you'll find that most of them want to move away from the party phase and take up sports, build something, or just start with new hobbies. So where does this bring us?

What you should tell yourself

In a world where social media and peer pressure often dictate what is considered 'fun,' it's crucial to embrace your independence of thought. Take a moment to reflect on your interests and passions. Ask yourself: 'Do I want to do something because it brings me joy, or am I doing it merely because others say it's fun?' Your individuality should be celebrated, and your definition of fun should align with your inner desires, not external influences.

Reiterating on the previous paragraph - talk to other people, see where your interests lie, and then make decisions on what you want to do in life. Personally, for me, I've picked up a lot of my previous interests back after I realised a lot of the people around me were actually doing it - they were just not "cool enough" to be posted to social media. So, I've been quite heavily investing in reading, and spending some time playing videogames again. Maybe try that out yourself.