25 Years Too Early for Social Media - finding amazing hobbies as an adult

I was basically 25 years too early for Social Media.

You see, when I was about 15 I inherited some money. Not a huge amount but enough to be dangerous with. At that freedom-seeking age, I really had two main options in my mind.

Firstly, I could buy a car. A cheap car but some wheels to get around ready for when I took my driving test. The ultimate freedom growing up in Sheffield which is a big city and has plenty of hills.

Or, I could buy a video camera.

I bought the camera.

Oh how I enjoyed the following few years shooting nonsense videos similar to the nonsense videos you get on Social Media now. My mate Rich and I, with occasional help from other friends, would brainstorm stupid stuff then film it.

Sometimes just dancing around, sometimes dressed as cops from the 1970’s, sometimes doing video voice overs, sometimes animating cuddly toys, sometimes doing action stories in the countryside, sometimes escaping from toxic toilet monsters – always creative, always fun, always getting better.

It was childish, churlish, cheap, cheerful, charming and utterly creative.

And I believe, that as we get stuck in the corporate world, bend ourselves to the norms of business and generally mature into adults, we often lose what made us tick as kids, teenagers or young adults.

Those things we did for no other reason than the sheer enjoyment of them could become great interests and hobbies as we get older. A way to explore our interests and creativity for no other reason than to simply have fun and get better at what we do.

It’s why I created the YouTube channel (not a Tiktok channel)- as a way of exploring what I enjoyed the most as a kid – filming. I try to weave in many aspects of my enjoyment of photography, film making and radio journalism into what I do today. Of course, the subject matter has changed but the idea of creating content in different mediums has not. The means of production are better and more accessible and quicker, but I’m still just storytelling and communicating in different mediums.

What I enjoyed as a kid is becoming a meaninful interest as I get older. I’ll never be YouTube famous (nor Social Media famous in general) and I wouldn’t want that pressure, but posting videos to YouTube gives me the incentive and creativity I desire.

What used to interest you when you were younger? And do you still engage with that activity? And are they still meaningful pursuits?

We can’t all be about work. What do you do to switch off and do just for the joy of doing it?

I make films and I was basically 25 years too early for Social Media.