Want to quit gaming but scared you’ll just be bored? Wondering what you will do with your time instead?
“I’d recommend that you have a look at Cam’s 70+ hobby ideas if you don’t have new activities to replace gaming” – AlexTheGrape
If that’s you, you’re in the right place. My name is Cam, and for the past four years I’ve been dedicated to helping gamers just like you overcome this challenge in their life.
In this guide (that is completely free), there 70+ new hobby ideas to help you replace gaming, including activities that will help you:
- Stay Mentally Engaged
- Avoid Boredom at Home
- Feel a Sense of Achievement
- Make New Friends
I also have my top five favorite activities to help you get started right away. My goal with Game Quitters isn’t to only help you quit gaming, but to truly live your life to the fullest. Your first step is to find activities to replace gaming:
“Finding a hobby will definitely help you move past your internet addiction. I would recommend downloading Cam’s over 60 hobby ideas” – Paul A
“You should check out cam’s 60+ hobby ideas if you’re stuck.” – Schwing
“I didn’t think that I’d be interested in a lot of things from the 60+ hobby ideas list and many other activities, but when I finally said to myself “ok, I need to try these or else I won’t know for sure if I’ll enjoy them” I got started and really enjoyed the hobbies I tried out.” – AlexTheGrape
“I checked Cam’s 60+ Hobby Ideas and decided to finally attend a Toastmasters meeting in my city. Something I wanted to do for like a year but never did.” – SB
“Downloaded the 60+ hobby ideas today and found some new outdoor activities I’d like to try” – Rusaw
Boredom Leads to Excessive Gaming
Boredom is one of the main reasons why people play games so much. But, unfortunately, not knowing what to do can lead you to revert to your default activity which takes the least possible effort – and for many people, that is playing video games.
And if you’re a parent, then you might be concerned that your child is spending all of their time playing games while not learning anything else in the process. This can be a worrying sign.
Considering that boredom is one of the main reasons you play video games, you must take some time to consider alternatives to video games especially during times like summer break.
If you don’t have any ideas, here are some quick alternatives to video games that you can try:
- Learning a new language
- Learning a new instrument
- Computer programming
- Starting an online business
- Photography
- Reading
- Learning how to cook
- Volunteering
- Dance classes
- Music production
- Drawing
- Martial arts
- Rock climbing
- Adventure races
There are hundreds of different hobbies that you can try, but before you pick one, you need to understand that gaming addresses your needs.
Gaming Addresses Our Needs
While you may be playing video games to kill time, it’s almost certain that you don’t play video games to pass the time.
More likely than not, you are playing games because they fulfill some other needs that you have. That’s why if you want to be successful in finding an alternative to video games, you need to know what activity will fulfill the same needs that gaming did before that.
Now, video games are effective at fulfilling our needs because they can fulfill several types of needs at the same time:
- They’re mentally engaging
- They allow you to rest
- They can also be social
For these reasons, you will need to find several activities that address these same needs for you. Otherwise, you will be tempted to go back and play video games. Of course, it can seem complex at first, and it might be uncomfortable to try things other than gaming, but you can make progress.
Let’s look at each type of activity and why you need to use it to replace your gaming.
Alternative Activity Type 1: Mentally Engaging
Have you noticed that one of the main reasons you play video games is because they’re so mentally engaging?
By this, I mean video games are immersive and capture your attention. You can even get so invested mentally that you forget about other things in your life entirely. For example, you start by saying you’ll only play one hour, and that hour turns into two and three and more.
You’ll need to find at least one alternative to video games that will keep you mentally engaged. In my case, this was DJ-ing. For you, it might be something completely different – as long as you keep your brain active and engaged.
It can be a new skill that you learn or develop; it might be starting a business, learning how to play an instrument, learning a new language, or something else that you might like more. An activity like this will give you a reason to stay engaged and keep coming back to it, hopefully keeping you away from video games.
Some of the best mentally engaging activities that you can try include:
- Learning a new language
- Learning an instrument
- Programming
- Photography
- Starting a business
- Writing
- Online courses
Alternative Activity Type 2: Resting
If you play video games after you come home from a long day, then video games fulfill the objective of getting you relaxed and allowing you to wind down.
If that’s the case, you’ll need to find activities that will do the same for you. These activities are relatively low-energy but still active enough to keep you relaxed and avoid feeling bored.
You don’t have to find activities that will allow you to sit around all day doing nothing. Even resting activities can be mentally engaging, although they don’t have to be so intense.
However, you have many great alternatives in this category that will both allow you to learn something new and relax, such as (no, watching Netflix isn’t one of them!):
- Listening to podcasts
- Reading
- Learning how to cook
- Graphic design
- Music production
- Drawing
- Lego building
- Beer brewing or making cocktails
- Collecting
- Jewelry making
Alternative Activity Type 3: Social
One of the most important reasons you (and so many other people) play video games is that they’re social. Now, you might not be the most social person in real life, but video games may have become an important plug to fill that hole in your life.
Maybe it’s because all of your friends also play video games and you communicate with them online, or perhaps it’s because you’ve entered a community that you’ve become so engrossed in on Discord that it’s hard to let it go.
But even if you quit gaming and look for alternatives for video games, you don’t have to abandon the social aspect of your life completely.
Instead, to replace video games effectively, you want to find an activity that enables you to stay social and make new non-gamer friends. With time and effort, you might be able to build a new social circle.
There are many great social activities that you could try to replace online gaming, such as:
- Meetups
- Sports
- Martial arts
- Rock climbing
- Volunteering
- Dance classes
- Adventure races
- Airsoft/paintball
- Starting or joining a club
- Public speaking
- Gym
Is Playing Video Games a Hobby?
If you play video games for an hour or two a day and you see it as a leisurely activity, then playing video games can be a hobby.
Some studies have even shown that playing video games can have some positive effects on you.
However, a big problem with video games is that they’re so addictive, and it’s easy to start playing obsessively, which will get you down a slippery slope of gaming addiction. That’s when the negative effects of gaming will overwhelmingly beat the positive impacts.
The truth is that there are so many other great activities that you could try instead that will address the same needs as gaming and that are not so addictive and potentially harmful to you.
I’m not saying that you should completely quit playing video games and that all video games are bad for you. The problem is when playing video games is the only thing you do, while you have nothing else going in your life.
If you want to try alternatives to video games but you want to keep gaming, that’s fine as long as you focus on priorities in your life and don’t put too much emphasis on video games. If you want, you can set an hour per day, for example, for video games, but use them as a fun activity, not as your main hobby.
Are Video Games a Waste of Time?
Not ALL gaming is a waste of time – but you’ll have to look at your specific situation to determine whether it is for you or not.
If gaming is the only thing you do and you’re neglecting your career, relationships, school, and real-life things, then gaming is a waste of time. If playing games for the entire day is the only thing you’ll do all day, then you’re certainly wasting your time.
But if you play video games sporadically and view playing games as a hobby, then gaming can be just that – a hobby.
Looking for Alternatives to Video Games?
If you’re looking for alternatives to video games, we have a hobby tool that you can use to find the perfect hobby for you.
With the hobby tool, you can specify the exact type of hobby you want to find. So, for example, if you want to find a hobby that will help you stay social and keep you mentally at the same time, you can select both filters, and you’ll find several great hobbies that you could try.
The key to getting yourself away from video games and stopping playing so much is finding activities that will keep you busy and addressing the same needs that video games fulfill for you.
If you suffer from gaming addiction and no matter which hobby you try, you can’t seem to break free from it, try our in-depth program on how to quit gaming called Respawn.
We also have other resources you can try, such as: