As a senior, you want to do fun things at home, but also, as a loved one of a senior citizen, you want to make sure they live a happy life by staying busy. And that is why you might wonder, what can senior citizens do online?
Well, no need to look any further. I’ve listed 25 of the best online activities for senior citizens that are fun, interesting, and worth checking out. So let’s get started right away!
1) Play Games
Playing games is always fun. At least, that is what I think. And if you or a senior citizen you want to help also loves to play games, then you should know that you can do games such as sudoku, crossword puzzles, chess, poker, jigsaw puzzle, checkers online. You download different game apps on your phone or tablet to play every day.
And did you know that doing a puzzle or playing games improves mental health? It improves mental speed, memory, and thought processing. Keeping a brain active is essential to staying happy and healthy in retirement.
2) Follow An Online Class
Another fun thing senior citizens can do online is to follow a class. And there are fantastic online classes out there. One of my favorite platforms is Masterclass, where you can access all 100+ classes from the World’s Greatest. From Gordon Ramsay, Alicia Keys, Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Finley to many more exciting experts in their field. They all share their tricks, tips, and secrets via easy-to-follow videos that are accessible for everyone and any skill level. I highly recommend checking Masterclass out. It can be a fantastic gift for yourself or someone else.
3) Attend Virtual Events
There are also amazing free virtual events organized especially for senior citizens from interactive workshops, lectures, dance classes, webinars that are interesting to attend. It enables you to get informed about important topics, learn new things, and the chance to interact with other like-minded people online. You can visit the virtual community center from the organization AARP to check which online events are planned next.
4) Read Books
Reading books is a great activity for older people. It is the cheapest way to travel to another world without leaving your house. And when you or a senior citizen has read all of their books at home, you can easily read books online. With an E-reader and Kindle Membership, you have access to an unlimited amount of books and audiobooks. Impossible to read everything in this lifetime, but hey, you can always try.
5) Date
Are you single and ready to mingle? Then online dating could be an excellent activity for you. It’s a great way to interact with other people, make new friends, and who knows… maybe you even meet your new spouse online.
When it comes to dating at an older age, it’s different. Most senior citizens who are single are looking for a companion first. The romantic part is secondary. And that is why Eharmony is a great platform to check out. They’ve dedicated an entire section to seniors on their platform and are the #1 trusted dating app for senior citizens.
Their unique matching system focuses on finding the best connection for you. Compared to many other dating sites, you’ll get in contact with real people who share the same interests. You can test the waters with a FREE Trial here.
6) Make New Friends
Having friends makes life a lot more fun. But did you know that maintaining social connections regularly keeps you healthy? According to many studies, having a rich social life has been linked with many health benefits, like less risk of depression, longer life span, and even greater benefits, according to the article at Harvard Health Publishing.
And there are perfect opportunities for senior citizens to make friends online. I’ve listed a couple of interesting links below:
- Senior Travel Buddy is a social network where you can find a travel buddy.
- Ready To Care is an organization where you can find a penpale.
- Elder Treks is a travel adventure club designed for travelers 50 years and up.
- Evergreen is Bed & breakfast homestay travel club for people who are over 50.
- Woman Traveling Together a travel club for solo female travelers.
7) Do Bingo
You can organize a virtual bingo with other senior citizens. This way, you can still play bingo and interact with friends without leaving your home.
8) Visit A Virtual Escape Room
Do you love Sherlock Holmes and like to solve puzzles and mysteries. Then visiting a virtual escape room is an excellent activity for you or other senior citizens to do online. You can check out this free demo of a Mystery Escape Room.
9) Travel All Over The World
Yes, you can travel all over the World online. You can visit cities, walk through beautiful national parks and visit museums and art galleries without leaving your house. Go on youtube and type virtual walking tour and your favorite city and you’ll see a list of virtual tours. Also, many world-renowned museums offer virtual tours that can check out for FREE most of the time.
A walking tour of the famous Louvre Museum in Paris, France:
A walking virtual tour of Rome, Italy:
10) Shop
Shopping is one of the easiest activities senior citizens can do online. You can shop for everything you want online, from groceries, meals, clothing, appliances, hobby material. Perhaps you have a shopping list now. Check out if Amazon has the items you need.
11) Genealogy
One of the most popular hobbies in retirement is genealogy, “the study and tracing of lines of descent”. Many senior citizens love to dig up things about their past, trace their ancestors, find answers and search for new relatives. Building a family tree or writing a family history book is a popular and meaningful activity in retirement. And Myheritage.com can help you out with that.
You can do a DNA test to reveal your unique ethnic background and match you with newfound relatives. And discover the specific groups you descend from among 2,114 geographic regions and explore billions of historical records. You can start with a 14-day FREE trial to check it out.
10) Listen To Music
Listening to music is one of my favorite activities. And if you are done with listening to your old cassette tapes of vinyl records, you can explore new music online. Spotify is a great platform to listen to your favorite music but also gives you suggestions for new artists and albums you might like. But you can also listen to relaxing music or healing music because music is such a powerful tool that has many health benefits.
Music is vibration. And our body has its own unique vibration. Every organ or cell has its own unique vibration. And with the right music, you can heal parts of your body and uplift the mind.
Senior citizens who are depressed, lonely can benefit significantly from the simple action of listening to music. If you select positive and uplifting music, it can improve their mood, bring back happy memories, and improve their quality of life.
11) Learn A New Language
Another great activity senior citizens can do online is to learn a new language.
But there is a common misconception that seniors can’t learn a new language. But that is not true.
Seniors can learn a new language. They benefit from their large vocabulary, making it easier to learn more words in a new language. Only learning a new language as a senior might take longer because it becomes more challenging to learn new things when you get older. But if you continue challenging your brain (e.g. learning a new language) your brain functions 30 years younger!
Read more: 10 Benefits Of Learning A New Language At An Older Age
12) Listen To Podcasts
Podcasts have become widely popular over the last few years. And with good reason. You can find interesting podcasts on almost every topic. You can actively listen or put on a podcast in the background. You can easily find great podcasts on Apple Podcast App, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.
13) Start An Online Business
Anyone can start an online business. And the best part about an online business is that you don’t need a lot of money to get started and you can learn as you go. That is what we did. The only thing you need is a laptop/ tablet and an internet connection. And also time, but that is a luxury that most senior citizens have. Interested in starting an online business? Continue reading with my article: 15 Unique Business Ideas To Start In Retirement.
14) Reminisce
Grab your old photos and home videos and create a legacy box (digital copies). This way all your memories will be protected and can be shared online and shown to your family and friends. You can send in your photos and video to Legacybox and they will convert your tapes to digital.
15) Create Fun Videos
Making videos is so easy with a smartphone. Especially the newer ones create such high-quality videos that you can easily share them online. You can share daily journals, inspirational talks, or travel vlogs with your loved ones. Or you can even start a youtube channel or a Udemy course to share your expertise with the rest of the world, while also making an extra couple bucks.
And you don’t need to be a professional video editor to create amazing videos. There are many video creation platforms online that make video editing very easy.
16) Explore New Hobbies
Another fun activity seniors can do online is to explore new hobbies. The internet is a great source to check out new hobbies and see what sticks. You can go on Pinterest and explore creative hobbies just by pinning inspiring pins to your board and then Pinterest will help you find similar topics. Also, Youtube is a great source to find tutorials that will improve the skills of your favorite or new hobbies you’ve always wanted to try out.
Read more: How To Find A Hobby At 60 That You’ll Love: 9 Tips
17) Watch Movies & TV Series
Is it a rainy Sunday afternoon? Grab some popcorn and switch on a streaming platform with your favorite TV series or watch a movie you haven’t seen yet.
18) Find A Job
Many retirees love to stay busy by having a job in retirement. It creates structure in their day, gives new meaning to their life, keeps them socially active while earning some extra cash. A volunteer job can give your life a whole new purpose and makes you a happier person like many other retirees that love to volunteer. So if you or the senior citizens you take care of would benefit from having a job then you can search for jobs online easily.
Read more: 50 Best Jobs For Retirees
19) Catch Up With Old Friends
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or others are perfect to stay in contact with old friends and family members. You can see what they’re up to. But staying on social media too long can make you feel unhappy because you easily start to compare yourself with the unrealistic happy pictures and videos of other people. Therefore it can be worthwhile and take the extra step to contact a friend or family member and make an appointment to do a video call so you can have a meaningful conversation.
20) Have A Virtual Happy Hour
Do love you to make a nice cocktail or do you enjoy a nice cold beer or artisan glass of wine? Why not organize a virtual happy hour with your friends or family member to enjoy happy hour together. You can send virtual happy hour cocktail kits to everyone and have some fun together via video call or Zoom.
21) Do A Virtual Pub Quiz
You can attend a Live Virtual Pub Quiz such as Jay’s Virtual Pub Quiz. He streams a live pub quiz every couple of days (see below an example). You can easily play along with pen and paper.
22) Read Comics
If you love to read comics, then you don’t have to buy them anymore. There are several websites where you can download comics to your phone or tablet. Just type “read comics online” on Google and you’ll get a list of websites where you can find comics published recently but also from the ’50, ’60, ’70’s, etc.
23) Read The Newspaper
Another online activity for senior citizens is reading the newspaper. It is free and only if you want to read certain in-depth articles you will need a membership.
24) Pick Out A Pet
A pet is a great companion for every senior citizen. Healthy seniors can search for a new life companion online through websites such as adoptapet.com or petfinder.com. But if you don’t want a pet or can’t take care of a pet you can still find a pet to take care of a couple of hours a day. Many families have a pet and would love to find a senior that will take care of their pet a few times a week, month, etc. Care.com is a fast-growing platform that connects families with local trusted caregivers, dog walkers, and pet baby sitters.
25) Learn A New Profession
You have time, why not learn a whole new profession? Retirement is the perfect time to become a teacher, handyman, gardener, blogger, online entrepreneur. You can find a broad selection of excellent courses at Udemy.com