8 Online Hobbies You Can Take Around the World

Having the freedom to travel to other countries and explore other cultures is a privilege that many people cannot take advantage of.

Whether monetary or societal issues constrain them, it is a sad indictment of certain societies that people cannot travel around the world to explore fantastic sights and landscapes. 

Certain hobbies have found a key market by becoming an integral feature of tourism, such as ski and beach resorts, and luxury hotel and casino destinations in specialist gambling destinations such as Macau and Las Vegas.

Gaming & Online Casinos

Casino gaming has grown to staggering proportions since the inception of smartphones and mobile apps that accommodate portable gambling needs.

Other types of casinos, where you don’t need to gamble with cash, such as sweepstakes casinos, have also become a huge hit, given the amount of choice and variety available with for example sweepstakes casinos slots games.

Some hobbies are genuinely universal; it’s not just skiing or gambling that can transcend cultural and language barriers. There are many others that you can take with you as you travel around the globe.

Today, we will look at some of the most popular, traditional and latest hobbies that have allowed people to pack up their belongings and seek adventure while sticking to their usual hobbies and routines.

Content creation – writing, blogging and video editing

Even as recently as 30 years ago, international society was more segmented and the internet was still trying to find its place in the world.

Jobs like content creation didn’t exist, and more traditional forms of entertainment, primarily television and radio, were the platform of choice for entertainers. While some global megastars could reach audiences across the Atlantic and beyond, it certainly wasn’t something they could do on the move like many people can in today’s day and age. 

Content creation is a multibillion-dollar market – there’s a wide range of jobs in content creation.

You can write articles, create YouTube videos or other social media digests, or even vlog or blog about your traveling, thus killing two birds with one stone, and you can take your hobby around the world, turning it into your job, a life goal or a dream job for many.

Bali is one of the tourist hotspots that offer digital nomad visas for those looking to turn their hobby into a job and set up in another country for an extended work trip or holiday. 

READ MORE: Cost of Living in Bali

Coding and computer programming

Despite the looming, ominous, omnipotent and dystopian potential of AI threatening the existence of many jobs, those who can and do travel with their job continue to explore the world while they can.

Content creation fits this bill, as do computer programming and coding, which, although specialist, are among the first roles that technology experts believe could be completely wiped out by AI. Although it is a billion-dollar sector, many people enjoy coding and learn to code as a secondary hobby.

As long as you have a laptop and an internet connection, you can take your job around the world.

Chess

The universal and timeless nature of one of the world’s most popular board games continues to hold firm, even in a world with supercomputers and powerful AI.

This classic game dates back over 1,500 years and could perhaps be used as an excellent example to show that human intuition and our love for one-on-one mental challenges is something that technology can’t replicate. 

Over half a billion people still enjoy playing chess; according to recent figures, this includes prominent names in music and other celebrities. If it is a hobby that you enjoy, regardless of where you travel in the world, you’ll be able to find a tournament or game you can participate in.

Whether it’s the free tables dotted around parks in New York or the giant chess board on Kata Noi Beach in Phuket, Thailand, it is a game that engages all types of ages and demographics, and transcends language barriers. 

Likewise, this popularity has manifested online, where you can access many free sites and play against anybody in the world – and if you’re traveling around the world, this is something you can do from your phone with no issue. 

Photography

While the art of photography might have transformed primarily thanks to the internet, and more recently, Instagram, those with a photography business can essentially run it remotely from wherever they are in the world.

However, for those looking to simply pass the time, journal their travel photos and explore everything the world has to offer, it is a hobby that has been able to adapt seamlessly to the technological marvels and innovations of the internet.

Creating a digital photo album in an app like Instagram or being able to upload photos from digital cameras to laptops is easier now than it ever has been.

As the quality of cameras continues to increase, with more photographers able to upload high-quality imagery to their social media pages and websites within a few minutes, it is a hobby that has fared well in the digital age.

Retro cameras are still drawing an audience, too. Although the market for physical photographs from retro cameras might not be as strong as before the dawn of the internet, it is a hobby that many people practice on their travels. 

Physical exercise

Scientists are continually drilling into us just how important it is to exercise regularly. In addition to having a structured routine, a healthy diet and a balanced social life, physical exercise is something you can do around the world.

Whether you prefer to go for a jog, hire a bike or attend a gym, there are few countries in the world where you wouldn’t be able to expand on your love for staying in shape.

With the emergence of YouTube, exercising online has become a colossal industry.

Some YouTubers who post HIIT workouts or boxercise workouts have amassed millions of followers, especially during lockdown.

Working out online – and for free – is a fantastic way to stay in shape, and for those who might not have the time or financial resources to get to a gym while jetting around the globe, the internet hosts a platform to do this effortlessly.

Meditation and yoga

These are another couple of hobbies where you can set up with your phone or mobile device anywhere in the world.

Although meditation and yoga do require some elements of peace and tranquility, they’re excellent examples of something you can do simply with an internet connection and a quiet area, whether in a hotel room or on a beach.

While some people say meditation and yoga are more like healthy lifestyle choices than a hobby, you can make a strong argument for them to be either.

In the traditional sense, just like physical exercise, you could join a class, but in 2024, more people than ever are turning to the internet to bring up a meditation or yoga session on their phone to complete at their leisure.

Mobile gaming

Within a small window of around two decades, console gaming has had to make way in the industry for the innovations of mobile gaming.

As the internet continues to connect people more closely than ever, regardless of where you are in the world, mobile gaming has surfed the wave of this once-in-a-lifetime technological advancement.

Games like League of Legends and Candy Crush revolutionized mobile gaming in the late 2000s and early 2010s, with the main driving force behind their unbelievable popularity being that the games were free to download. 

Unlike expensive consoles and console games, League of Legends generated profit by highlighting in-game purchases and adverts.

Although this idea had been flirted with before, nobody anticipated how successful these games would become.

Despite its release way back in the 2000s, League of Legends still has over 150 million active players, and it is a hobby you can take around the world – as long as your mobile device has service.

Final thoughts

Hobbies have entered a new digital phase since the beginning of this century, and now, more of us than ever have mobile phones. Not only are they integral to daily function, but hobbies have transitioned, with millions of us using mobile devices and smartphones to access our favorite hobbies. 

A balanced lifestyle includes hobbies you enjoy and a balance of positives, whether it’s a positive mindset, a good diet or an ample amount of regular exercise a few times a week. Thanks to social media, you can stay connected to blogs, hobbies and ideas far more easily than previous generations could. 

Since it’s important not to put yourself at risk of information overload or focus too much on your hobbies, especially when traveling the globe, achieving a balance can often be the most challenging thing to get right.

If you can travel and not have to spend any money while sticking to your hobbies, you can supplement your travel, making it even more memorable and having those home comfort reminders in the palm of your hand.