Things to do online when you're bored or on lockdown

The internet is a place filled with endless opportunities for frivolous fun. In fact, for many of us, it’s hard to imagine a time when we weren’t able to lose ourselves down the rabbit hole of cute cat videos and multi-page listicles. But there’s so much more to the internet than the latest viral social media trend. There are places on the internet where you can create abstract artwork on the fly and unleash your inner Picasso, for example.

Play classic arcade games and revisit a time where smartphones didn’t exist yet.

Don’t get us wrong, we love to scroll through our Instagram feeds. But, honestly, there is very little reward at the end of all that double tapping. So why not make your internet hours productive ones? If you’re bored out of your mind and are looking for something entertaining to do, consider the following 34 fun things to do on the internet.

1. Google Yourself

Seriously. You never know what you’ll uncover about yourself. That is if you dare…

2. Take Quizzes

Test your knowledge of Renaissance art, Roald Dahl books, or even the best Twilight Zone episodes. Which Spice Girl are you? What type of pizza best sums up your personality? We hate to admit it, but we can’t get enough of these absurd quizzes.

3.Try Your Luck at the Penny Auctions

Less like a real auction and more like a game show, a penny auction gives you the remote chance of winning expensive items for very little money. QuiBids and DealDash are among the more popular options available.

4.Tour Another Country With Google Street View

Very few people realize just how cool Google Street View actually is. You can enter addresses or neighborhoods located in countries throughout the world and use your mouse to visually explore the streets, plazas, and more. For instance, did you know that if you enter “10 Downing Street,” you can actually tour the inside of London’s government headquarters? Give it a try.

5. Create Your own Memes

Whether you’re a lover of Grumpy Cat, Overly Attached Girlfriend, or Condescending Wonka, memes are undeniably amusing. Using simple meme generators like the Img Flip Meme Generator and Make a Meme, you can create hilarious or thought-provoking memes of your very own. You can even create memes of your friends and family to drag them into your internet rabbit hole.

6. Become a YouTube Celebrity

If someone as bizarre as Poppy can do it, so can you. All you need is a camera phone and a free YouTube account to start sharing your thoughts with the whole world. If you attract enough followers, you may even be able to generate some revenue.

7. Become a Part of a Writing Community

Do you love to write? Try your hand at sites like Scribophile and NaNoWriMo that make it easy to join a community of writers.

8.Rank Things

Ranker.com is a fun site to explore when you just want to spend hours ranking the things that you love. Favorite ’80s cartoons? Favorite post-punk bands? Vote up the things that you love and leave everything else in your dust.

9. Plan the Trip of Your Dreams

If your Google Street View tour inspires you to actually get out and see the world, you can use the internet to explore hotels, cruises, tours, and excursions—from Southern California to Northern Siberia. Even if you can’t actually take the trip right away, the planning process alone can be fun and exciting.

10. Read Funny Amazon Product Reviews

Google it. You’ll thank us later.

11. Order Food

When companies like Pizza Hut began using online ordering, the internet was forever changed. Now dozens of major food purveyors—and even grocery stores— make it possible to order food online. Give it a try.

12. Explore a new Recipe

Are you tired of relying on the same spaghetti and meatballs recipe every week? The internet has billions of recipes to explore—from easy weeknight meals to classic French dishes. Expand your culinary horizons.

13. Create Beautiful Art on Silk

Do you love art? Do you have the artistic abilities of a hamster? Don’t feel ashamed; get creative. Sites like Silk allow anyone to create eye-catching art.

14. Learn all About Your Family History

Sites like Ancestry allow you to learn a great deal about your family history. If you can’t afford the premium services, you can still learn more for free on other sites like Family Search.

15.Get Ordained

Who needs to go to seminary when you can get ordained to officiate marriages online? Sites like Open Ministry and Universal Life Church allow you to cut through all of the doctrinal red tapes and earn the right to legally marry people. Even if you don’t actually marry anyone, it’s still a pretty cool thing to say you could.

16. Learn a New Skill

Learning is fun. Seriously. Sites like Lynda.com have easy-to-follow lessons covering everything from marketing to digital photography, and sites like Codeacademy can teach you how to write code like the pros for free. In fact, it’s safe to say that there are very few skills you can’t learn online.

17. Make New Friends

Are you looking for something to do on Saturday night? Sites like Meetup allow you to connect with groups of people who have like-minded interests—whether that means hiking, movies, wine tasting, or even crocheting—and make new friends while painting the town red.

18.Watch TV or a Movie

Maybe you don’t feel like going out this Saturday night. Maybe you’d rather binge-watch Game of Thrones or check out the latest rom-com. Sites like Netflix and Hulu have your back.

19. Find Deals in Your Neighborhood

TV is great, but if you’d rather go out, you might want to hit up some popular coupon sites like Groupon and LivingSocial. By exploring these sites, you can find deep discounts on restaurants, amusement parks, hotels, spa treatments, and much more.

20. Play a Game

The internet was made for gaming, and sites like Pogo and King make it easy to explore and lose yourself in a world of challenging and colorful games.

21. Find the Love of Your Life

Once relegated to the fringes of cyberspace, online dating is mainstream. If you keep an open mind and a positive attitude, you can have a lot of fun with it (and you might even meet The One). From Bumble to eHarmony to Match, the possibilities are virtually endless. 

22. Keep in Touch with the Friends you Already Have

Yeah, we realize social media isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for a mindless pastime that can connect you with friends from the past and present (and possibly even future), you may want to venture onto sites like FacebookInstagram, and Snapchat.

23. Open a Store

What’s more fun than making money? Thanks to sites like EtsyAmazon, and eBay, you can sell your old clothes or even build a retail business from the ground up.

24. Start a Blog

If you’d rather eschew the news of the day and share your own views on current affairs, style, cuisine, or almost any other topic, consider starting a blog. You don’t need any technical skills to get things rolling. Services like WordPress and Tumblr make it easy and free.

25.Go Shopping

If you’re not interested in opening your own store, you can still shop at other people’s stores, and probably even get free return shipping, if you’re lucky. Check out the latest styles, books, movies, trinkets, and more from the comfort of your computer. Be careful, though. It’s dangerous.

26.Take a Trip Down the YouTube Rabbit Hole

Seriously. One minute you’re watching a video about how to cut a pineapple, then the next you’re watching an informative piece on the 10 most haunted castles in Lithuania. Thanks to the recommended videos on the sidebar of each video, you can explore for hours. YouTube really is quite the adventure.

27.Get Involved With a Cause

Whether you’re passionate about social justice, the economy, saving the whales, or any issue at all, the internet offers a cornucopia of sites where you can raise your voice, meet like-minded activists, and get fired up. Change.org is a great place to start.

28. Catch up on the News

Most news sites offer at least some free web access, so don’t shy away from the web when you’re looking to stay informed about what’s happening in the world around you.

29. Discover new Music

If you’re tired of listening to the same Drake record on repeat, it’s time for some new recommendations. Sites like Spotify and Pandora allow you to input the music you already love and learn about new music that may be to your liking.

30.Explore Life Hacks

Have you ever wondered how to fold a fitted bed sheet or how to fit multiple bowls in a single microwave? There’s probably a hack for it. Google “life hacks” and prepare to have your mind blown.

31.Take Surveys for Cash

Yes, it’s really a thing. Sites like Opinion Outpost and Inbox Dollars allow you to make cash just for taking mindless surveys online. You won’t get rich, but you may earn enough money to finance your next trip to Starbucks.

32. Explore Craigslist Missed Connections

You’ll just have to trust us on this one. Some of the entries are so bizarre and hilarious that you’re guaranteed at least an hour or two of valuable entertainment.

33.Make Some Music

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you don’t have to be Mozart to create original music. Sites like Soundtrap make it possible for even the most novice creatives to compose and record original tracks.

34.Create a Photo Gallery

Remember Photobucket? Well, it still exists. And platforms like Google Photos make it even easier to arrange and archive your photos online.

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