5 Websites That Won't Make You Feel Like You're Wasting Time Online
Have you ever come out of a Netflix binge-watching session seriously examining your lifestyle choices? Do you enjoy spending time on the Internet but want to avoid wasting three hours scrolling through Tumblr? Do you want to use your time to improve yourself and make a difference in the world?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, here are some pretty cool websites that can help make your time spent on the Internet more meaningful and productive.
1. Lumosity
Created by scientists and game designers, Lumosity is an online brain training program that helps improve memory, attention and speed of processing. They start you out with a free fit test to see how you stack up against others your age and then develop a series of games and tools to begin your training. You can become a member for free, but subscribers have unlimited access. Those who've used Lumosity say that they feel smarter and a sense of increase brain capacity after participating in the program. And no, it's definitely not just for old people.
2. FreeRice.com
FreeRice.com is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme. It gives you vocabulary questions to answer, and for each one you get correct, you instantly donate 10 grains of rice to hungry people through the World Food Programme. You start out on level one, but you can move all the way up to level 60 if you're smart like that.
With FreeRice.com, not only will you be improving your vocabulary, you'll be helping those in need. In the amount of time it takes to watch an episode of "Grey's Anatomy," you could probably donate enough rice to feed a whole family. So there's some perspective for you.
3. Lynda.com
Lynda.com is an online learning subscription site with thousands of courses and video tutorials in subjects like graphic design, business, animation, education, photography and more. For $25 a month, you get unlimited access to all content and can view it on the go. These skills are super helpful for Millennials in today's technology-driven society and can also make you more desirable to employers. Also, many universities offer free subscriptions to Lynda.com for student use. Can we make binge-watching Lynda.com videos a thing?
4. TED
You've probably heard of TED Talks or watched them in your classes before. TED is run by a nonprofit company and seeks to spread ideas and spark conversations in the form of short, powerful talks given by professionals. You can visit their website and view any of their videos on a wide range of topics from science to business to global issues and more. Not only will watching a TED Talk allow you to learn more about important issues you care about, you'll automatically feel smart and cool. You could probably use what you learned from a TED talk to impress your friends, a professor or your crush.
5. MAVY
As a young adult in today's society, have you ever felt misunderstood by brands or ill-portrayed in the media? MAVY is is a digital community created by Millennials, for Millennials. As the largest and most misjudged generation, MAVY is a way for Millennials to voice their opinions about what matters most to them or how they feel about certain issues. You can do this by answering short polls or participating in fun quizzes.
In exchange for your participation, you'll get prizes, such as store credit for Amazon. And best of all, the information that you contribute to MAVY will be sent to corporations and large companies that are seeking to market specifically to Millennials. No longer will we be misunderstood in the marketplace. That's probably worth a retweet or something.
