There is no excuse for boredom

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Whadda ya mean you're bored? When I was your age, all there was to do was watch grass grow, catch grasshoppers, and pick dandelions. When I was allowed to play computer games, they were EIGHT-BIT games! With ASCII graphics! And they cost at least $20 each! There WERE no cell phones when I was your age! Tablets didn't exist! The internet didn't exist either, for that matter. And no, since there was no internet, there was no Facebook, no Roblox, no YouTube.

If I wanted to do something fun alone, I made cakes and cookies from mixes, made noise on musical instruments, read paperback or library books, or pasted stuff into my scrapbook. Yes, scrapbooks, the precursor to sites like Facebook and various blogs. Sometimes I sang along to songs on the radio. I also collected stickers and stamps and pennies, and sometimes popsicle sticks to build things out of.

When I wanted to do something fun with my friends, we walked around the neighborhood, played tag, had tea parties, played dolls and Barbies or Legos or playing cards, or played board games. The lego sets back then didn't include any cute little lego heads either, but if you got a more expensive set, you might be lucky enough to have a few pieces with wheels. When I wanted to play a game on my computer, I programmed that sucker into my VIC-20 using the instructions manual, and you couldn't play with friends unless you had a noisy thing called a modem. Most of the time I spent my spare time doodling on paper drawing cartoon girls.

But YOU, you have access to the internet, unless you have some nanny limiting your access. You can check your Facebook page hourly, and even play social media games there, or on your tablet or phone if you have one. You may even have a VR headset. Even if you are poor, there are plenty of games now that you can start playing for free - sure, they'll nag you for money, but that trick is at least 20 years old, trust me. Google nagware if you don't believe me. Plus these days, they won't quit nagging you once you've given them your money - they'll just beg for more. But there are so very many different games now that once one blocks your progress you just go to a different one. Or, you can just watch videos on Youtube. You may even have a bicycle, and the now-required safety helmet, or a skateboard. The weather is nice out, maybe you should go outside and ride around while you are still young enough to enjoy it, or hit the beach or a local swimming pool.

If all else fails, you can always join the adults in worrying about political, economic, and environmental issues, and become an activist. Or, get a job and get paid for your boredom by the hour.