A tech enthusiast can easily find hobbies that fall directly into their normal niche, but when it comes to branching out and trying something new, that’s a different story. Tech-related hobbies can get a bad rep at times. People think of screens inside, in the dark, and a fully sedentary lifestyle.
High-tech equipment doesn’t need to be plugged into the wall anymore, and you won’t have to run a 100-foot extension cord into your backyard just to have fun. Tech can actually get you outside and engage with the natural world in surprisingly exciting ways.
Here’s a list of hobbies that you may find exciting and rewarding if tech is your thing. Some activities might surprise you.
Photography and Film
Often mistaken as something you need to start young, photography and film are two fantastic places to start off if you want to try something new.
There’s a lot of art in photos and videos, but the technical aspects of the hobby can get completely lost. Taking high-quality pictures or creating a well-crafted film takes as much know-how of tech as it does creativity.
Combining artistic hobbies like photography and film with technology requires a sharp eye and a deep understanding of the different pieces that all play a part. The gear alone requires a high level of technological skill.
There are hundreds of different cameras on the market, each designed for a specific task. Then you need to master a particular set of lighting and editing software.
Drone Flying
Drones have become huge in the years since their development. Piloting a drone is bringing all the skills from video gaming into the real world, plus a new variety of gadgets to be played.
Drone pilots can pursue various hobbies that expand a tech enthusiast’s experience. You can use drones for taking unbelievable photographs, but you can also customize drones to race or even map an area.
Hunting
Here’s one that might come as a surprise, especially if you spend most of your time behind a computer screen. Modern day hunting incorporates a huge amount of tech into the sport, making it one of the best new hobbies for tech lovers.
The weapons, tactics, locations, gear, and final shot must be tuned in with such precision that many people never succeed without a devout work ethic.
Long range shooting brings together a mix of technical skills that will require refinement and perfection of your rifle. On the other hand, stalking deer is a more creative skill that hunting requires you to perfect. You can combine hunting with techy pursuits like trail cam monitoring, mapping, and orienteering to get the best results.
Off-road Driving
All-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes, utility-task vehicles (UTVs), and side-by-sides allow your technical side to flourish and help you find new challenges.
These machines require skill to drive, and it’s even more exciting in real life than it is in first person viewer mode on a video game. You’ll develop new technical skills as you learn to operate and maintain off-road vehicles.
Aside from the maintenance, there are all kinds of tech gadgets to add to your OHV that personalize the vehicle and enhance the fun.
Geocaching
Imagine a massive treasure hunt spread across the outdoors, ending with a puzzle that will demand technical thinking and skills to solve. Geocaching, and gadget geocaching, is a favorite amongst tech lovers who want to get outside.
Geocachers worldwide have hidden small log books throughout cities and nature alike, all for recreation’s sake. There are sites to find the latitude and longitude for certain caches, and it’s up to you to discover them. Many users will utilize GPS devices, and some old schoolers will still look at maps and compasses.
The newest movement in gadget geocaching is to end with a puzzle representing more of an escape room situation. To get to the log book, prize, or whatever it may be, you must crack a code or hack into the system.
Recreational Shooting
Shooting sports can seem the opposite of a tech-related hobby, but it isn’t all about pointing, shooting, and blowing stuff up. Although that’s a part of it, a huge amount of fine technical skill is required to actually hit what you’re aiming for, rather than blasting rounds into the hillside.
A basic understanding of hunting and shooting supplies is the perfect place to start. Then comes the combination of all these tools to perfect your shot. It’s as precise as writing code and as exciting as gaming ever has been.
Electronic Music
If you want to stay inside while exploring a new hobby, electronic music is one of the best to get after. This allows you to mix new tracks while using tech programs to edit and distort the sounds precisely what you want them to be.
The beauty of making electronic music is taking music that you already love and making it your own. With the right gear and software, any computer can turn into an electronic mixer that is great for someone looking for a new hobby.
Rock Climbing
Rock climbing is a perfect mix of mental and physical challenges that many people overlook as a hobby. All forms of climbing, sport, bouldering, top rope, or traditional climbing provide their challenging style, which is why it’s a perfect hobby to try out. You can start to explore the specific gear you need and how to use it properly.
While there aren’t a lot of techs involved, climbing is more about technical skills than it is about being incredibly strong.
Throughout my years of climbing, I’ve always been the one who thinks a route through and looks at it as a puzzle that gets to the top. The muscled-out guy from the gym who tries to pull their way to the top ends up back on the ground more often than not.
Astronomy
If all of these hobbies feel too close to home, then check out astronomy. This hobby allows tech enthusiasts to discover new worlds and go on a grand adventure right from home. Starting with astronomy is as easy as waiting until nighttime and getting out.
Since our world has succumbed to so much light pollution, the stars are fading further and further into the background. These constellations and different galaxies all have their own stories woven into several human cultures, and looking at them is looking straight into these histories.
Discovering these stars requires equipment that can bring distant galaxies into eyesight, which means a massive amount of power. Lasers that hit the moon and telescopes that bring galaxies into view are only the start.
