Adventure in the Age of Screens

What is adventure and wanderlust, really? I can tell you one thing: it’s not scrolling through Instagram and spending time in front of a screen. At least, not always.

I’ve noticed something that tends to happen to me when I travel, and it revolves around the thing you’re reading this on: screens. Social media has a habit of taking us out of the moment and sucking us into an endless stream of content.

I’m not a huge social media poster. I spend time scrolling, looking at memes or videos, but I don’t usually post a lot. (Though I do have several accounts for this blog that I try to frequently post on.) When I notice that I’m on social media too much, I usually delete it off of my phone for a while.

However, I do still spend a lot of time online. I am part of Gen Z, after all. I’ve had the internet with me my whole life. I watch a lot of Youtube, play video games during most of my free time, and talk to friends over the internet. I even play Dungeons and Dragons online most of the time, since the people I play with are often too far away to play in-person.

The whole point of this is to say that I’m in front of screens a lot. But when I travel, it’s like a switch flips and I don’t want to do that anymore.

My Experience

When I travel, I often bring plenty of things to do, especially in preparation for long flights or road trips. I pack books, my laptop, my Switch with a bunch of games, and just download music on my phone. I never know what I’m actually going to want to do during downtime. So I bring everything. And I usually don’t use any of it.

Usually on a flight I end up playing games or reading. When I can, I look out the window at the landscape far below me. On road trips I usually just end up listening to music or an audiobook while I drive or look out the window. I want to see every little thing around me. I hate driving or riding at night for this exact reason.

Once I’m actually at my destination, I find that I do not enjoy being online. Whenever I’m at my hotel with nothing to do, gaming never feels right. I do end up just scrolling on my phone mindlessly when I have idle time, probably more due to exhaustion than anything else. Still, it doesn’t mean I want to do that. It’s just a way to pass the time.

Here’s an example: When I was in Belize, I fell out of my routine of reading before bed every night, because I was usually too tired or busy with other things and wanted to spend time talking to my new friends. At the same time, though, if I had idle time, I just couldn’t find any enjoyment in games. Not for a lack of trying, either. I was opening Minecraft and several other games trying to find something that piqued my interest. None of them did.

And I think this gets at a bigger idea.

Adventure and Screens

When I’m at home, or have free time, the stories I often read are fantasy or sci-fi. Games, too. I play roleplaying games with large open worlds, or worlds with a lot of detail that feel different to ours. I explore everything I can, but I don’t get caught up in the little tiny details, either. I like to go on adventures. Most of the time, I find it difficult to replay games unless it can feel like a new adventure every time.

When I travel, though, I’m on an adventure already: exploring a new country, experiencing a new culture, and meeting new people. Everything is new and the world has some magic in it again.

And I think this is the reason why I have such a hard time enjoying fictional worlds while I travel. When I’m home, everything around me is familiar (for the most part). I need new experiences and a feeling of adventure to keep me going.

Wanderlust, I think, is just curiosity taken further. People learn in different ways. Some people are visual learners, some auditory, while others have to learn something by actually doing it. Learning and wanderlust are both motivated by curiosity. But wanderlust is like curiosity by doing, instead of seeing or hearing. It’s a step beyond; a desire to go out and actually experience the world. You can’t do that behind a screen.

Still, when I’m home, I need something to explore. I think that’s why games (D&D and video games alike) have always given me so much comfort. I can fulfill that desire to explore until I have the opportunity to experience the real thing again.

Language and Adventure

Yep, I found a way to bring this back to language!

I’ve talked about this in some other posts, but if you want to properly learn a language, you have to experience the culture it comes from. Immersing yourself in language is the only way to truly learn it.

I think in this discussion language serves as a good analogy for what I’m trying to get at. You can learn about history and culture or study vocab and grammar at home all you want. But if you don’t give yourself time to actually go try it for yourself, it won’t work out.

Gaming acts as a supplement for the real thing, but can’t truly replace it. When you’re traveling, there’s this inherent knowledge that you’re experiencing the real deal, and playing a game to simulate the experience just doesn’t cut it. I think this is why I have such a hard time getting back into D&D after a trip, too: I’ve just experienced real adventure, and don’t need this simulated version of it.

Conclusion

Ultimately, my point here is this: if you’re getting bored of something you usually love, try getting some new experiences. Or, somewhat inversely, if you’re getting bored of something you love, you could be in the middle of a better experience.

There are so many ways to experience new things. You don’t have to travel halfway across the world to get a new experience. Go to a nearby town you’ve never visited. Try a new restaurant or hike.

There’s a whole world out there. Go explore it. And if you run into some problems along the way, I have some advice for that, too.

Thank you for reading! I hope this post gave you some special insight about being adventurous. If you have any questions or comments, let me know below. Alternatively, you can contact me directly!