Glued on Youtube

Ben Contreras .

SOMETHING worthwhile in spending your time at home is to watch videos on Youtube. It’s educational, informative and amazing.

There was a time when we rely too much on cable TV to watch channels like National Geographic and Animal Planet or even foreign movies. But modern technology gives us access to almost anything you would like to ask and watch.

Thanks to my smart TV. After abandoning my cable TV, my smart TV is providing me enough entertainment and information via Youtube.

I have reached the stage of my life when the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Yes, not that I need to slow down already but physically, I can no longer be at pace with what I was five or 10 years ago. So, I now have more time at home than being outdoors.

Yes, I can watch Youtube with another gadget. But the monitor is small compared to my 50-inch smart TV. Besides, it’s more relaxing watching TV in bed.

It may not be complete but it’s more than enough you could ask for in Youtube. Search and you shall be provided, so to speak.

Filipinos love tele-serye programs that make you laugh and cry. It’s so typical of Filipinos that when hooked to it, one can put everything behind just to be able to update oneself of the next episode. And when I come across programs on how to make this and that, programs that teach how to make a living or how to generate income, I thought why not spend time on these programs instead of tele-serye? Then the story of Juan Tamad came to mind and everything just stopped. It’s their life after all, and there is nothing I can do about it.

Youtube has a way of reading your mind. Watch a particular program and the next time you open it, it gives you more information about the subject you just watched a day before or awhile ago.

I seldom watch TV series. When people talked of “Game of Thrones,” I thought of another similar series that I found boring. Well, it was not until I came across the segment about the three dragons — from eggs to full grown dragons.

Luckily, my daughter has it in her hard drive. Wow, six seasons and 60 episodes, more or less. It glued me to my bed for three days. Yes, I look forward to Seasons 7 and 8 which would be available by next year.

I’ve been watching street food in different countries, fishing big and small, conspiracy theories, war histories, famous movie personalities, how people morphed from rags to riches, vice versa, how things are made, mining and extracting gemstones, discovering treasures and just about anything that interests me. It’s endless.

In the middle of these all, my phone would ring and off I go still doing my chore to eke a living, to be with friends and to attend to matters for a cause.

That sums up my life at this stage. Many things are slowing me down — my age, traffic, failure to do and get something, etc. There’s one thing that is very gratifying though. It is coming home after a day’s work, and converting my thoughts into words to share these with people.

Back to Youtube, the learning seems endless. There are lessons that make you wish you were 20 years younger and could have done what you’ve always wanted to do in life.

Spend your time wisely!