Internet Down? Here’s How to Entertain Yourself

In a digital age, it can feel devastating to lose an Internet connection. We are connected to everything and everybody by the little devices in our hands. Staring at a blank screen when you see no Internet when you’re working is frustrating, but when you’re in your down time and all you want to do is watch Netflix or doom scroll on Facebook, it can be even more frustrating. Losing the Internet does not mean that you have to end your productivity, and it doesn’t mean you have to be bored either. 

You can be as entertained as anything without the Internet, and this is where the millennials of the 90s come in and remind you that the Internet didn’t exist at one point, and therefore if it didn’t exist again, you’d have to rediscover all of the things that you love without the Internet.

Maybe you used to love to sit down and do a word search, or maybe you love to go and play chess with a neighbour. Either way, there are plenty of things that you can do to keep yourself entertained. The Internet is down and we’ve put a list of those things together.

1. Go for a bike ride. You see that big ball of bright light in the sky? That’s called the sun! When you pull yourself away from the Internet, you get to enjoy it and going for a bike ride is one of the ways to do that. The Internet has become one of those day-to-day activities that we can’t live without. We power the TV with it, we connect to our friends with it, we do video chat with it and we doom scroll on Facebook and other online shopping outlets with it. However, there is a whole world out there that can still exist without the Internet, and the sunshine can make it a brighter place. Hopping on a bike, or if you’re not a fan of a bike, going outside and getting some fresh air and having a walk is a great way to entertain yourself when your Internet goes down.
2. Read a book or a magazine. It can feel like there’s nothing to do or look at when the Internet is down, but instead of getting your entertainment in 32nd bursts on Tiktok, why not pick up a book for a change? Whether you prefer fiction or nonfiction, there’s likely going to be a book or a magazine laying around that will hook your attention for longer than 30 seconds. If the Internet is down, you could probably still access ebooks, but the whole point here is how to entertain yourself when you don’t have access to your screen. Magazines and newspapers are available in your local shops, and books are even available in your local library. So if you don’t have anything new on the shelf that you want to read at home, get yourself to a library, settle down in a good chair and read.
3. Try new recipes. While you’re at the library, why don’t you check out a few cookbooks. When the Internet is down, you won’t be able to use a follow along video on YouTube or on social media, but you can still follow a recipe to the letter on the book that you’ve checked out. Being able to give yourself some time back to spend it in the kitchen, put on music (not internet powered), and dance around while you cook is a great way to get entertained while you don’t have.Internet to entertain you. 
4. Pick up that DIY project that you put down. You could start a whole new project or Start learning a craft, but if you had already started a DIY project, it’s time to pick it back up again. Get out the tools, get out the spackle, and get out the paint because it’s time to redo, renew and recycle a project. You don’t necessarily need the Internet to guide you either because you can get your friends and family over to help you out. If you have a relative who’s relatively great at DIY, then they can help you and guide you through the steps to making sure that your project doesn’t go wrong.
5. Start decluttering the space. If you’re not going to be distracted by TV shows or the Internet, then it’s time to start digging down into your actual physical life. The virtual world is a lovely place to be sometimes, but it can distract you from what’s really important. And when was the last time you did a proper declutter of the house? One productive activity allows you to engage in making your space look beautiful, and that is cleaning. Does everybody like to clean? No, but you need to get started and clean the house properly. Put a plan in place to have the house cleaned from top to bottom and make a list of where you’d like to start. Having a list allows you to tick off all the jobs as you do them, which makes you feel accomplished along the way.

6. Play card games. Whether you get your friends over and you play as a group or you start playing solitaire, there are so many games you could play without having to log on. Card games or even board games are excellent pastimes to enjoy with families and friends, and you can bond and spend time together this way. From rummy, bridge and poker, to a game of chess and Monopoly or Cluedo, there are plenty of ways that you can entertain each other while you’re playing board games. Doing puzzles without the Internet can also be a lot of fun, and crossword puzzles are a great way to keep your mind sharp. You’ll improve your vocabulary skills and your memory just by digging deep into crossword puzzles. You can find these in newspapers, books, or magazines, and you can even download puzzle apps on your smartphone or tablet to play offline.
7. Learn a new skill. So, the Internet has cut out and instead of twiddling your thumbs or giving into boredom, why don’t you use your time productively and learn something new? Go and see a grandmother or a relative who knows how to knit and ask them to walk you through the steps so that you can effectively knit your own blankets. If you have a relative who knows how to draw, go and spend time with them and learn what they know. Ask to learn to cook. There are so many ways that you can learn new skills without the help of the Internet, because how do you think people did it before the Internet? They socialised, they asked other people and they went to the library and they looked it up in books. You can go through step by step book tutorials to help you to learn a new craft or a skill and that can really make a difference to your day-to-day life.

The world is not a boring place to be if there’s no Internet. You just have to learn a little bit of rediscovery and figure out what the world would mean to you without it. If you don’t know how to entertain yourself without being online, that is actually a problem. It’s time you rediscover the world outside of virtual reality and learn what it is to be a human being who’s grounded and is in nature or spending time with other people.