The Joy of Having "Analog" Hobbies in the Digital Age!

One of the things I really like is that I have mostly incredibly "analog" hobbies as a way to relax from this digital age in which we live.

For example, I collect old postage stamps, I like to garden, I paint mandalas on beach rocks, and perhaps the least analog of my hobbies is that I love nature photography.

Whenever I get involved in any of these pastimes — as I did this afternoon when I pulled out one of my stamp albums and started to work on my collection — I tend to forget everything about the Internet, instant messages and whether somebody is looking at my Facebook or twitter feed... and, yes I still use Facebook!

But not very often...

Perhaps it is not entirely accidental that I am not into gaming online, or into watching endless YouTube and TikTok reels as one of my primary ways to pass my limited free time.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of technology and I do almost all of my work online... and I'm totally dependent on the Internet to make a living. However, when I need a diversion of some sort I prefer to step away from the technology and do something that essentially leaves me completely alone with whatever that thing is... and with very little chance of unwelcome intrusions from the online social world.

Where is it is definitely true that I use a digital camera for my nature photography, the majority of my efforts actually revolve around finding the subject matter (especially when it comes to birds and insects!) rather than actually photographing it. And yes, there's an actual purpose to it as well... as you can see by the way the vast majority of my posts here on Steemit are illustrated.

Yes, these are all my own photographs. And it actually makes me very happy that I can incorporate one of my hobbies into my love of writing!

In general, I'm also not much of a TV watcher. In fact, we don't even have cable TV anymore. To the extent that we do watch anything on TV it is mostly streaming movies and other programs that are available from a streaming service. Commercial TV is just not very interesting and besides both Mrs. Denmarkguy and I hate commercials!

But aside from that, it is part of my objective in having a hobby or pastime that I can get away from whatever it is I spend all my time around - in this case, the Internet.

It might even surprise some of you to know that when it comes to writing I still keep a paper journal and I write in it regularly using a pen and ink, and doing it the old fashioned way!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

How about you? What sorts of hobbies do you have? Do they involve technology, or do you prefer to turn OFF the technology? Do leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)
Created at 2023.05.22 00:53 PST
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